A Meister's Battle Within
by MegaTJ
Summary: Every Meister has a story. My story is about my curse, the enemy that has stalked me for years, and my life as I tried to stop the power inside of me from ripping the world in two.
1. My Story Begins

**Hey, everyone, it's me with another story. First, I want to let everyone know that this story is not from the poll on my profile. Those are small projects, this is going to be a medium to big one. Here we go.**

My Story Begins

Every Meister has a story. One that possesses a beginning, a middle, and an end. My story will start at the beginning of it all, well actually when I was five, because that's when my world got turned upside down.

I was five when it first happened. When my power was discovered. Wait, let me rephrase that, when my _curse_ was discovered. Yeah, that's better. I call it my curse because it hurts people, even when I don't mean it. It has the power of destruction that I can't control. I'll get to that later, though. Let me get back on track here.

_On the outskirts of Death's Haven…_

I remember it clearly, it was an afternoon, in March. I remember lying in the cool meadow, enjoying the crisp air gently make the grass sway gracefully. My home had been protected by an invisible force field. My family had been running. Running from a…a…I can't seem to remember what it was, but I know it wasn't good.

I remember being so relaxed that I had fallen asleep. I knew it was several hours later when I woke up, because night had fallen. I would have slept until morning if the blood freezing roar hadn't jerked me from my slumber, I remember screaming and the sound of wood breaking, and then as I walked into the big house I called home, flashes of my unconscious family entering and exiting my mind. Everything was either completely destroyed or not far from it. There were streaks of blood on the walls.

I was terrified. That was until I got to my mother, and then my fear went completely into a full panic stricken frenzy. She was lying face down, in a pool of blood. I shook her, trying to wake her up from the sleep I thought she was having. She quivered slightly, and turned her blood stained face toward me.

"E-Ethan, I want you to run, run away, go to Death's Haven, and look for Augustus Henoshima, he will take care of you there, now hurry, before they come back", she said. She didn't do anything else but slowly lay her head back down. I felt the tears run down my face.

"M-mama, Mama, wake up", I sobbed. The crash behind me subdued my crying. Now standing in front of my, was a very ugly beast. It could have resembled a puma, but the blades coming from its shoulders and the chest plate armor makes me think otherwise.

"Hahaha, another young soul to devour, how delightful", it said heavily. It lunged at me, baring its bloodstained teeth and claws. My fear made me react and without even thinking about what I was doing, I raised my hands and I felt a surge of warmth flow throughout my body as two serpents shot out of my hands. They were two different colors, one was a very light blue, and the other was gold. They hit the monster and it vaporized into a thousand ribbons. The ribbons then formed back into a red plated egg like thing with a wiggly tail on the end. The snakes looked at it, and then at each other.

"Ahh, look, Zero, a Kishen egg, we had better take it and save it until Master Ethan can use it", the gold snake hissed. They were both still attached to me, though, not by my hands anymore, but they came from my back, as if they could move their back ends to different parts of my body. I couldn't stay conscious anymore, I was far too weak from what I just did. I sunk to my knees.

"Master Ethan is weak, we must get him to help", the gold one said, "We must go to Death Haven as his mother instructed."

Before I lost complete contact with the conscious world, however, I remembered the snakes slither back inside of me, and took control of my bodily functions.

The next day, I woke up in a well lit room. It was definitely a girl's room, judging by the ample amount of pink and purple that bathed the room. The bed I was lying in was just as pink as the walls. I looked around the room, to find that I was surrounded by an army of stuffed animals. I had a million questions swirling inside the aching thing that I wished was someone else's head. First, what was I doing her, second, how did I get here, and lastly, of all the rooms to put me in, why a _girl's _room? The door opened, revealing, a girl not so older than me. Her hair was a light pink color and was in two large pigtails that almost hit the floor. The blue dress she was wearing blended with her eyes. She was carrying a tray with a small slice of bread, a glass of orange juice, and a bowl of steaming soup. She noticed that I was sitting up.

"Hi, how are you, I thought you'd never wake up", she said quickly, and brightly, "I brought you something to eat."

As she got nearer to me I found myself getting more and more nervous. The only girl that was around my age was my sister, so being in the presence of an unfamiliar girl was awkward. She made it to me and placed the tray on a small table beside the bed.

She leaned her head in closer to mine and looked into my eyes.

"What's your name", she asked. To be honest I had to rack my brain for a second.

"Uh, my name's Ethan, Ethan Tokomashi, who are you", I answered. She backed away.

"I'm Knell, Knell Henoshima", she replied smiling broadly, "I had better go and get Daddy, he'll want to know you're up and at'em."

She left the room. I looked at the tray next to the bed. I wasn't in much of an eating mood, but I needed to think. Then, I felt a weird warmth swim throughout my body, and then two snakes, shot their way out of my back. At first, I was frightened, but, they didn't seem to want to hurt me.

"Ahh, Master Ethan, you are awake, you had us worried after you didn't wake up this morning", the gold one hissed.

"What do you mean, it is morning isn't it", I replied.

"I'm afraid not, Master, it is in the afternoon now", the blue one hissed, "We hope you are well, especially after what happened last night."

"What", was my response. The snakes looked at each other and then back at me.

"You had a big fall last night, Master Ethan, but it's okay now, because you're safe now", the gold one hissed, "Allow me to introduce us. I am Critesce and this is Zero, my brother. We are the snake spirits within your body. We keep watch over you and help protect you."

There were footsteps outside the door. The snakes retreated back into my body. Even though they did, I could still hear Critesce speak.

_Master Ethan, now that you know of our existence, we will now talk to you whenever it is needed_, he said.

The door swung open to reveal a large muscular man wearing merchant's clothing. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed.

"Ethan, it's nice to meet you, I got worried that you didn't turn up. I need to talk to you, your mother told me that you were a very bright and brave boy, so it will be okay to explain this", he said. I nodded. I was really smart, I could understand things that some adults couldn't. I was also called brave because things like death and emptiness didn't frighten me.

"I'm afraid you're the only one that survived last night, well, your sister may be alive, but she had never turned up, I've sent a message to Lord Death of the Death Weapons Meister Academy in Death City. They will look for your sister. They will also be taking you and Knell under their care. I'm afraid I can't let you stay here, the organization that wants to hurt you will eventually track you here. I'll be okay, but you and Knell won't be. They'll be her soon", he explained. Some of it I couldn't understand, or even remember, but his explanation did promise safety.

_Ahh, the D.W.M.A., an excellent place of safety, you will be safe there, Master Ethan_, Zero hissed inside of my head.

The next few hours drug by. I used the time to get acquainted with Knell, since we would as well be living together for a while. Then, that evening, some heavily armed men showed up at the small cottage we were staying in.

I found myself on a one way ticket to Death City, where I would live with a woman named Marie until Knell and I could live on our own. The house we arrived at held a very girlish appearance, it was covered with flowers and other girlish appendages. Marie was a very tall lady, well, from a five year old's perspective.

"Hello, you must be Ethan and Knell, I'm Marie Mjolnir, but you can call me Marie, you'll be living with me until you get old enough to live on your own", she greeted us at the front door.

"Uh, Marie, they know", one of our bodyguards said. A very comic goofy look spread across her face, indicating her embarrassment.

"Why don't you kids come inside while I talk to Mr. Sid here?" she suggested. We did as she said, and sat on the couch in the living room. After several minutes Marie came back in.

"Now, how about we get your things to your rooms", she said cheerily. My room was on the second story, which frightened me because I wasn't so brave when it came to heights. Knell's room was on right across from mine.

(Now, I'm going to skip through the years of mostly eventless time, to get to a very important time in my life.)

The years passed, and I had grown much attached to Marie and Knell, they were my family now, and I referred to them as such. I had spent the years getting to know Critesce and Zero as well, they were by now my closest friends. Marie had been a very watchful and cautious mother over me and Knell. Not only did she smother us with motherly love, but she also taught us how to read and write, as well as arithmetic and other necessary subjects. She also taught us the basics of the way souls worked and how some people can become weapons using their soul. Knell and I grew fast, and according to Marie, too fast.

Now, at the time I explain now, is the start of the sure plot of my story.

Knell and I were now both thirteen. And we were getting ready to move out and into our own place to live.

"I can't believe we have to move out tomorrow", Knell complained, as we were walking back from the park. After eight years Knell, still wore her hair in those pig tails, but she no longer wore a dress. Her outfits now consisted of black and grey pants with a light pink sweater and a black with white trim combat vest. She actually looked very pretty in the mix matched outfit, and it really didn't look that bad. I now wore loose fitting shorts that were blue with many pockets on them. I wore blue shirts and a combat vest that matched Knell's. We both got vests by an anonymous person for Christmas.

"Well look at the bright side, at least we start school tomorrow too", I said.

"Yeah, but it also sucks that we won't be partnered up, Marie said that we're both Meisters, we will have to partner up with someone else", she complained further.

"Knell, even if one of us were a Weapon, we wouldn't be able to be partners anyway, our Soul Wavelengths are so different we would probably kill each other trying to be partners", I joked. She gave me a giggle.

"How do you think they determine your partner", Knell asked me.

"I heard they take the data they get from our examinations and match it to that of a Weapon, but that Weapon will only be your partner if you can't find one that fits you best first", I said.

"Well, at least you get to choose first", she sighed. I smiled deviously, and brought her into a headlock.

"Hey, no fair, I was distracted", she shouted, trying to break free of my vice-like grip.

"That's your fault", I said, giving her a quick noogy before letting her go and taking off shouting, "Race you home!"

"Oh, you are so DEAD!" she called running after me. We made it home wrestling playfully as we went through the door. We stopped after seeing a tall figure in the living room. He was wearing long black robes and was talking to Marie with his back to us. We knew immediately it was Lord Death. We had never met him before, but Marie had given us very detailed description of him. Our presence made him turn around.

"Heya, Hi, Wassup", he greeted waving a large boney hand at us.

"You two are finally here, great, I would like you to meet Lord Death, he wanted to come over and see two of the newest students that will be attending the Academy", Marie announced.

"Uh, hi sir, I'm Ethan, and this is Knell. Knowing Marie, she had probably already told you all about us", I said. Marie turned a light pink from embarrassment.

"Ah, yes she has, I would like to be the first to welcome you to the D.W.M.A. even though you won't be attending until tomorrow", Lord Death replied, "I'm afraid that is all I can say for now. I have to get back to the school before I'm missed. If you have any questions of just want to talk, all you have to do is breathe on a mirror so that mist accumulates on it and then write the numbers 42 42 564 while saying the words 'Write 42 42 5-6-4 if you want to knock on Death's door.' I will appear and I will be able to talk to you. Goodbye for now, young Meisters and I'll see you later."

He left and Marie turned to us.

"Are you guys going to follow your schedules you made for today or are you going to ignore them", she asked us, "I did my part by making dinner early, so why don't you go eat."

We left to do as we were told. Our dinner was the best, only Marie could cook curry in a way that tickled your taste buds. To follow our schedules, Knell and I took our showers, and went to bed early, so we would be ready for our big day.

In my room, which was full of moving boxes, I laid in my bed thinking, unable to sleep due to anxiety.

"Critesce, Zero, can you come out, please", I whispered in the darkness. They silently slithered out of my shoulders.

"Can we help you Master Ethan", Critesce asked. Their glowing, scaleless bodies illuminated the room a light shade of green.

"Do you think I'll be okay tomorrow", I inquired, quietly.

"But of course, Master Ethan, your talents have surpassed even our expectations", Zero replied.

"No, do you think that I'll make friends", I asked. I had never had other friends other than Knell, because everyone I met evaded me.

"That is hard to say, it depends on the other students", Critesce hissed calmly. I sighed.

"Thanks you guys, I'll try to go to sleep now", I said. They both withdrew into me and I turned over to get some sleep.

**Well, there you have it. Expect Bios on my profile within the next week, and expect the next chapter within ten days. Please review, reviews keep me typing.**


	2. Starting a New School

**Chapter 2, here you go.**

Starting a New School

The next day, I woke up earlier than usual. I felt refreshed, ready to greet the morning with enthusiasm. That is, until I remembered what day it was.

"I hope today goes well", I sighed, looking out of my window to see the sun laughing hysterically. The smile lifted my spirits somewhat, and I quickly changed into my usual outfit and made my way downstairs. This morning there was no smell of breakfast lingering in the air. I thought this to be unusual, since Marie was usually up and making our morning meal. In the living room, all was quiet. I started to get cautious, thinking something had happened overnight, and walked into the dining room. There, I found the dining table empty, except for two small baskets. One had assorted fruit in it while the other held perfectly made muffins.

Before I made it half-way through the room, someone tackled me from behind. The sudden force made me lose my balance. Both my attacker and I hit the floor. Whoever tackled me pulled me into a headlock and grated their knuckles hard against my skull.

"That's payback from yesterday", Knell breathed into my ear. She let me go and we stood up.

"I knew I was going to pay for that one", I said.

"You aren't the brightest when it comes to common sense, because if you mess with the Knell, you'll get the dingdong*", she said smugly. I shot her a quick, meaningless, playful glare. She didn't seem to notice, or just ignored me.

"Hey, what's this?" I asked, picking up a note from the table. In Marie's handwriting, it read:

_Dear Knell and Ethan,_

_ I'm afraid I won't be able to see off on your first day at the Academy, I had to leave on an urgent task given to me by Lord Death. I hope you have a wonderful day. Help yourself to the food on the table. Knell, SHARE! Well, that's all I have to say, I'll see you this afternoon._

_ I love you both,_

_ Love,_

_ Marie_

I put the note back on the table. Knell was munching happily on the food Marie set out for us. She left a couple of muffins for me, which indicated she had already read Marie's note. I grabbed a muffin and started to savor the blueberry flavor. I noticed the clock above the door said 6:45; we were going to be late! Without thinking, I grabbed Knell by her wrist and dragged her out of the house.

"Hey, hey, wait what are you doing?" she protested as soon as she recovered from the shock of being moved so fast. She anchored her feet to the ground and I couldn't drag her any farther.

"We're going to be late, we've got to get to the Academy in fifteen minutes", I shouted, annoyed at her absentmindedness. She looked at me for a second, before bursting into a fit of giggles. My annoyance was replaced by confusion.

"Hahahahahaha! I can't believe you forgot, you idiot! Haha, the clock in the dining room is broken; it hasn't worked since 6:30 last night", she laughed. I looked at her and then gave an exhausted sigh.

"I can't believe I did that", I said quietly.

"Don't worry, it's not completely your fault. Well, since you drug me halfway through the city, we may as well go the rest of the way, at least being a half hour early will make them think we're punctual", she replied.

I shrugged and followed behind her. We walked for about three blocks when we came to one of the city's many stone staircases. I was just climbing the first step when something to my right caught my attention. I looked in the direction and saw a lone figure standing under the arch of an overhead bridge. I couldn't see the person's face because he or she was wearing a hood that didn't allow light to shine on the face.

"Hey, Ethan, I didn't lose you did I", Knell called down at me from the top of the staircase. Her shouting made me jump and look in her direction. I quickly looked back to see the figure gone.

"Hello, Ethan, are you coming or what", Knell called. To answer her question, I just started to climb. _Who was that_, I thought.

My mind was wiped of that when we came upon the Academy several minutes later. I looked around. We weren't the only ones here early, there were hundreds of other students there as well, some looked excited, others…not so excited. I looked up to see the massive school. I was in complete awe, it was enormous! The entire school represented a giant castle, with a mask similar to Lord Death's mask. It had giant candles sticking out of it. I looked at Knell, she was just as awestruck as I was. I nudged her. She jumped and looked at me.

"Well, do you think we should go find a Weapon", I asked, she nodded. We looked around the large entrance corridor. To be honest, I didn't have a clue about how to find a weapon, so instead, I looked for a teacher. We came upon a group of older looking Meisters and their Weapons. I wanted to avoid being bullied, so, I started to walk away.

"Hey, you", one of the girls called. I froze, memories of bullies popped in and out of my head. She walked toward us. Her hair was ash blonde, and she wore a school outfit with a trench coat over it, the outfit was a white blouse with a yellow sweater vest and a red plaid skirt, her black boots had buckles on them. She was carrying in her hand a clip board. From my point of view she was very pretty.

"Yes, can we help you", Knell asked, when she had caught up to us.

"Yes, you can. I am Maka Albarn, a two-star Meister her at the D.W.M.A. I would like your names, so I can check you as present", she asked replied kindly. I relaxed a bit, at least I wouldn't have to fight.

"Okay, I'm Knell Henoshima, and this is Ethan Tokomashi", Knell said. Maka flipped through the thick papers, and found each of our names. She checked them off and then motion for one of her friends to come over. This was a boy. He had black hair with three stripes on one side. He wore a black business suit that had a silver Death Mask on the collar.

"Kid, I would like you to meet Ethan Tokomashi and Knell Henoshima. They're both new Meisters, and they need nametags", Maka said. He pulled out two identical nametags that both had "Meister" printed on them.

"Finally, I get to give two away this time", he said to mostly himself. He handed them to each of us and turned around to deliver more nametags to some more Meisters and Weapons. Knell and I stuck them to our vest and Maka continued.

"Okay, now that that is done, I have one more question. Have either of you found a Weapon yet", she said. We both shook our heads.

"Actually, we just arrived. And to be honest, neither of us have the slightest clue as to how to pair up with one", I stated.

"Well, I would help you, but I am very busy. Here's a quick tip: Finding a weapon is fairly easy, all you have to do is find someone you think you will get along with and see how it goes from there, most of the time, if a pair can match Personal Wavelengths with each, they can usually match Soul Wavelengths too", she explained, before jogging to a group of new Meisters.

"I think we should split up for now, and meet up when we find our partner", Knell suggested. I agreed, even though her company would make me more confident, and we went our separate ways.

I wandered into a large group of students and slowly started to look around. I didn't know what else to do, this was the first time no one has avoided me. They would look at me and then turn back to whoever they were talking to. It wasn't being totally avoided, so I took this as an improvement. After wandering pointlessly for several minutes I heaved an annoyed sigh.

_Is something bothering you, Master Ethan?_ Zero asked inside my head.

_Yeah, _I thought, so I could communicate with him, _I don't think I'm ever going to find a Weapon Partner_.

_Maybe, your partner will come to you. And remember, if you can't find your partner, there is already one found for you_, Critesce said.

_Yeah, one that I probably won't match Personal Wavelengths with._

_Maybe there is a way we can help, Master Ethan, maybe we can search out your partner_, Zero suggested.

"No thanks", I said aloud. I thrust my hands in my pocket and felt something then and firm. I pulled out the object and examined it. It was a small hand mirror. I forgot I had put it there in case I needed to call Lord Death. I looked around. Assuming that I _needed_ to call Lord Death, I retreated behind and breathed on it. When I had enough vapor on it I began to write.

"Write forty-two, forty-two, five six four if you want to knock on Death's door", I chanted, writing the appropriate numbers. The mirror glowed a very bright neon blue, before Lord Death materialized inside of it.

"Heya, Ethan, wassup", he greeted.

"Hello, Lord Death", I greeted in reply. My tone of voice was down, sad even. Lord Death cocked his head to the side.

"Is something the matter, Ethan", he asked.

"Yes, I need some advice. I can't find a partner Lord Death. Is there anyone that you can recommend me to?" I responded. I watched as he rubbed the lower part of his mask. I guessed it should have been where his chin was located.

"Hmm, I did visit a few other students' homes. Perhaps I can recommend Amaya Renku, she seems like your type of person, shy yet bold, and quiet. I won't have to describe her that much, because you'll definitely notice her", he mused.

"Thank you, Lord Death", I replied.

"Okay, good luck", he replied. The mirror flashed white before returning to a normal mirror.

_Well, wasn't that smart_, Zero hissed. I knew he was being sarcastic, because he was always the comedian of the two spirits within me.

"Oh, shut up", I said, not amused.

I walked around again. I didn't know exactly who I was looking for, the only thing I knew about Amaya, was her name and that she was a girl. I decided to build up my courage and start asking. I know I said I was brave, but a group of bullies made me timid around people. That's why I usually traveled with Knell, she could keep bullies at bay.

"Excuse me, could someone please tell me where I can find Amaya Renku", I called to no one in particular. A girl behind me spoke up.

"I think I saw her near the entrance doors", she said.

"Thank you", I returned, before heading to the designated location.

When I arrived, I started to look through the sea of teenagers. I looked and looked, and then looked some more, but I was still running blind. I still didn't know one thing about her. I had just about given up when I saw a girl with a worried look on her face.

She was taking about two steps before trying to peer over the tops of everyone's head. Her hands were entwined and she held them close to her chest. Could this be the girl I was looking for? I felt myself unable to move; her beauty had petrified me.

She was just as tall as I was, and looked about my age. Her auburn hair reached the bottom of her shoulder blades. Her hazel eyes carried a warmth behind the worried appearance. Her outfit was a simple blue blouse and a red miniskirt. She was wearing red and blue checkered stockings that reached above her knees. The nametag "Weapon" was stuck to the headset she wore around her neck.

I shook myself from my trance and walked over to her. Her back was now turned to me. I tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped at my touch and spun around, wide eyed. Her eyes darted to my nametag.

"Are you Amaya Renku", I asked, somehow without stuttering.

"Y-yes. Are you Ethan Tokomashi?" she replied. I nodded, afraid to say anything else.

"Uh, you're the Meister Lord Death recommended I meet", she said. I was shocked. She had called Lord Death too?

"That's funny, because, you're the Weapon Lord Death recommended that I should meet", I replied. She giggled at the coincidence.

_Aww, it seems as if Master Ethan has fallen in love_, Critesce hissed.

I blushed at his comment, and tried to hide it quickly. Luckily, no one had noticed.

"So, how about we see if we can match Soul Wavelengths. I'll transform into my weapon form and you try to wield me", she stated. With that she grabbed my hands in hers. I was shocked for a second until she burst into light and reformed into my hands as two identical swords. They were both black with silver tops. They were medium in length and they both curved upwards. The twin swords had what looked like waves coming forming on the tops of each blade, giving them a serrated appearance. The grips were made of a nice wood. The swords themselves wasn't the only thing that fascinated me, it was the feeling that swam throughout my body. It was an enlightened feeling, one that sent a slight flowing motion from me into Amaya and from her to me.

"Wow, this is incredible, our Soul Wavelengths match perfectly", she said. I didn't hear it with my ears, but with my soul itself.

"Yahoo!", someone shouted. I looked in the direction of where it had come from.

It came from one of the tallest spikes protruding from the school. As I looked I saw it was one of the Meisters from earlier. All of a sudden I saw the end of the spike break and he fell. It took him a few seconds to finally hit the ground and cause a small crater. He scrambled to his feet.

"Haha, finally, someone new I can fight", he directed at me. Some of the onlookers started whispering things.

"Not again", someone whispered.

"How many people is he going to fight this morning", someone else whispered.

"Who are you", I asked. I wasn't frightened by him because the energy flowing into me from Amaya was giving me a new courage.

"Who am I, who am I? Why I'm Black Star, the greatest assassin this world has ever seen", he proclaimed arrogantly, "And you are going to find that I am the biggest star at this school."

"Oh, yeah? Well, from that fall I can guess your best assassination was a flock of Canadian geese when you fell out of a tree while trying to kill squirrels and hit them on the way down", I badgered. Some of the others laughed.

"Don't make me laugh, I could assassinate you blindfolded", Black Star retorted.

"Why don't you give it a try?" I inquired.

"Okay, Tsubaki, Ninja Sword Mode", he said. A girl with long black hair burst into light and materialized as a small sword in his hand.

"Ethan, do you have combat experience", Amaya asked me.

"Some, but, I feel like I know more when I'm holding you, so let's see what I can really do", I replied.

"Here I come", Black Star shouted, and then he rushed toward me. I raised Amaya and braced for a parry.

**I'm glad to be finished with this chapter already.**

***This is a saying that Knell had come up with. It originates from, "If you mess with the bull, you'll get the horns". Since her name means a bell's chime, she uses a bit of creative wordplay to use the word "dingdong" as the horns of a bull, if you mess with Knell, the bull.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! I NEED REVIEWS FOR MOTIVATION!  
**


	3. A Fight, a Victory, and Big Trouble

**Hey, everyone. I would like to inform everyone that now, the first five ****registered**** reviewers will get a prize. They will include concept art from my stories, their souls drawn, their names as exotic nameplates, or insights to future chapters of my stories, so review review review!**

A Fight, a Victory, and Big Trouble

I brought my left knee to Black Star's gut as our weapons clashed. I found while I was holding Amaya, my senses were sharpened and I could perform new combat strikes.

The crowd of onlookers backed away as Black Star skidded to a halt after my last kick. I knew I was no match for him. Even though Amaya gave me a new courage and abilities, I was still an inexperienced Meister. I wouldn't be able to keep up with Black Star's capabilities forever. Amaya sensed my nervousness and spoke to me.

"Ethan, are you alright", she asked through our souls. I turned her left blade so that I could see her face through the shiny steel. I shook my head.

"What's the matter, one lucky hit and you're finished…pathetic", Black Star taunted. I didn't move from my spot. I just stared at Amaya's worried look. _Disarm him,_ I thought, _All I have to do is disarm him, then he won't be able to attack, an I'll be the victor._

"Okay, Amaya, I need you to help me find a weakness", I said, positioning myself into a defense stance. I turned her left blade so that it was in a backwards position compared to her right blade, that way I could block low sweeping attacks and perform easy high sweeping ones.

"You mean other than the fact that he's an air headed, arrogant klutz", she replied smugly. I smiled at her joke.

"Ahahaha, the Great Black Star has no weaknesses, you will soon witness the pain and suffering from the beating I am about to give you", Black Star chanted.

"Taunt him, that will make him charge you, that's when you make your move", Amaya said.

"I think you hurt your head on that fall earlier, because you mean the beating I'm going to give you", I called. He didn't reply before he dashed forward.

Before I knew what was happening, Black Star had disappeared behind me. My eyes widened at his speed and I turned to block his attack. Our partners clashed, and sparks flashed at their touch. I jumped back after our separation. Somehow I didn't think disarming him would be as easy as I thought. I thought about a new plan. Another idea popped into my mind. From one of my vest's many pockets, I pulled a small capsule.

"I'm not going to let you pull any tricks on me", Black Star yelled, rushing at me again. I was ready this time, so instead of waiting for him to get close, I threw the capsule at the ground. It flashed and smoke instantly filled the area. I heard some of the audience start to cough at the smoke. I tried to determine where Black Star was in the grey clouds. So, I struck in his last direction. He must have saw through my plan, because all I hit was the smoke screen's clouds. Without thinking, I moved out of the way as Black Star hit the ground with his partner. I wasn't quick enough; he gave me a cut on my left cheek as I tried to dodge his attack. I moved back into the smoke screen to try and collect my thoughts. Then, out of nowhere, shadows came from the ground and grabbed my feet and wrists. They constricted me and I couldn't move those parts of my body at all. I struggled as the smoke screen thinned, revealing Black Star, now holding a longer, black sword. The sword spread shadows on both of his arms and into his face, giving him the appearance that he was wearing a tattoo.

"How, do you like Tsubaki's Enchanted Sword mode, I think it will be the last thing you see as I slice you in half", he said. He rushed forward, slower than his first dash. Still it was fast enough to keep me from pulling anything.

"I can't move", I told Amaya through our Wavelengths.

"Neither can I. If only I could transform back into my human state, then we might have a chance", she replied.

"It's over", Black Star announced as he raised his partner to end my life. I closed my eyes in fear of my fate; my pulse was beating faster than it ever had. But it didn't come, instead, I heard the sound of two blades hitting each other. I opened my eyes and was stunned by what I saw. There, standing in front of, me raising a giant red and silver hammer, was Knell. She was the one that kept Black Star's lethal strike from doing its duty. Using the long handle, she drove it into Black Star's chest and sent him reeling backwards.

"I won't have you hurt Ethan", she screamed, "For that, you've just earned yourself the beating of a lifetime!"

"Alright fine, if you want to die for him then be my guest", Black Star said, "Tsubaki, Chain Scythe mode."

The sword his partner was currently being, changed into two small hand scythes, connected by a long chain. The shadows that seized me had vanished and I slumped to the ground, watching the sight before me. Amaya transformed from her weapon form and watched with me. The minute she did, I felt as scared as I should have been the entire time I was fighting Black Star. That is until she sat beside me and put her hands on my shoulders for support.

"I don't think you know who you're messing with", Knell said viciously.

"All I know is that you're a weak low level Meister who can't even imagine how great of a star I am", Black Star replied. Knell didn't comment, maybe she knew what I did; that we were both too inexperienced for this kind of opponent. Or maybe, she knew something that I didn't.

She rushed forward carrying her newly found partner at her side. She reached Black Star and swung the hammer with a force that could have crumbled a building. He jumped in the air, wrapping the chain of his scythes around the head of the hammer. Without warning, Knell swung her hammer. Since Black Star was connected to it, he was whipped around too. She thrashed her partner around, trying her best to make sure Black Star hit everything that was in range. She was swinging so fast that he couldn't find momentum and was at the mercy of the laws of physics. When Knell finally stopped her movements, Black Star hit the ground, covered in bruises and blood.

His partner returned to human form and hurried to his twitching body.

"BLACK STAR", she cried, "Why, why did you have to fight them, I told you it was a bad idea."

She was sobbing hard at her partner's state. I could feel the sadness engulf me as well, even Amaya seemed to be shaking slightly.

"Don't worry, I was careful not to break any of his bones or crush any of his vital organs. He will be unconscious for a while, though, and the bruises will be there for some time, but he'll be okay", Knell explained to the sobbing girl. I didn't know if that helped or not; Tsubaki was still crying, now probably even harder. Knell walked over to me.

"Are you two alright", she asked softly. I couldn't answer, I was still too stunned. I could nod, so I did. That's when Knell hit me over the head with her fist.

"Ow, what did you do that for", I groaned, now scared of her, too.

"For being stupid, he could have killed you, I can't believe that you would even think of fighting an experienced Meister", she snapped. I felt tears coming, now it felt as if I had no friends.

"Hey, it's not entirely his fault you know", Amaya barked, standing up for my defense, "I may as well as encouraged him to fight. And who are you to tell him when and when not to fight?"

"I'm practically his bigger sister", Knell replied, "And you must not be too smart either, thinking that you could take on a Level Two Meister."

"Then what about you, how was a beginner like you able to beat him, we could have beat him too", Amaya shouted. She was standing to her full height, but still wasn't as tall as Knell.

"I got lucky, if the events that helped me along in my victory were different, I may as well be as injured as Ethan would have been. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a Meister and Weapon to apologize to", Knell explained. She turned around and walked toward Tsubaki, her partner had yet to transform back into human form. While the girls were fighting, I had cowered back into a corner and started to sob. I was sitting on the ground, with my arms pulling my knees into my face.

_Master Ethan, are you alright,_ Critesce asked.

_No, I'm not, where were you guys back there? I sure could have used some help, talking to me now isn't going to help now, _I retorted.

_Our apologies, Master Ethan, we couldn't just exit your body, think abou-, _Zero started, but I cut him off.

_YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST GIVEN ME SOME EMOTIONAL HELP. IT WASN'T THE FIGHT I NEEDED HELP WITH, IT WAS KNELL. I don't want to talk, just, leave me alone, _I wailed inside of my head. I felt the snakes' nervousness at my words.

_As you wish, Master Ethan_, Critesce almost whispered.

I was so caught up at yelling at the snakes, that I hadn't noticed Amaya sit down next to me. She put her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. My crying ceased immediately. Her soft, tender touch overwhelmed me, my soul seemed calm again.

"Shhh", she whispered into my ear, "It's going to be alright, I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

I didn't move as she rocked with me. I just stayed motionless, only moving when she moved. I felt myself engulfed by her sympathy. I put my head on her shoulder and quietly tried to put my hands around her, too.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!" someone shouted into the crowd. I jumped and looked up. Maka was pushing her way through to Tsubaki, the unconscious Black Star, Knell, and a fiery red haired boy I assumed was Knell's partner. She looked at the foursome before speaking.

"What happened", Maka asked. Knell explained the situation, since Tsubaki was still crying. Her partner continued to stare at the sky. Maka sighed heavily.

"I'm gone three minutes and Black Star gets into a fight. It looks like he bit off more than he chew this time", Maka said. She looked around at the crowd.

"You! Carry Black Star to the infirmary, Tsubaki go with them", Maka ordered, pointing at a muscular boy in the crowd. He did as he was told. Tsubaki followed him inside. Maka looked over at me and Amaya. Her sudden attention to us resulted in me burying my face further into Amaya's shoulder. She patted my head.

"So, you're the one that helped in this. I think Lord Death would like to hear about this event", I heard Maka direct at me. I clung to Amaya tighter, she spoke up.

"Please, don't be upset with Ethan, it's more my fault than his", Amaya said.

"I'm sorry, but both of you, as well as Black Star, Tsubaki, Knell, and her partner will have to be punished for unsupervised fighting", Maka replied, "You may as well go to Lord Death now, since this just happened."

Amaya rose to her feet. I followed and she led me inside the school. The halls were empty, so I relaxed a bit, but not so much knowing that my back was being heated up by Knell's stare. It was quiet except for our footsteps.

"Do you know where you're going?" I whispered to Amaya.

"Yeah, I've been around the school before", she replied quietly. Her left arm was still around me, doing its best to keep from being nervous.

That wouldn't work, we were in trouble and were just about to confess to Lord Death. I placed my arm around her, trying to return the favor. She led us deeper into the large school. We finally came to a stop in front of a narrow hall way. There were many guillotines overhead as we looked into the seemingly endless hallway.

I froze on the spot, the guillotines making me a nervous wreck.

"Just through here is the Death Room, where we'll find Lord Death", Amaya announced. Everyone started to move but me. My eyes were wide with fright, my legs wouldn't move.

"Ethan, are you coming?" Knell asked. I just stood there, staring down the hallway, paralyzed.

"You guys go on ahead, I'm going to try to ease his nerves", Amaya said. The pair shrugged, and walked on. We watched them until they disappeared from sight. Amaya pulled me into another hug, I eased a bit at her gentle grasp, but not by much.

"Ethan, it's alright, I won't let you take the blame, it was me, I urged you, against better judgment", she said. I still couldn't move, I don't think anything she said could have broken me from my trance. I wanted so badly to tell her that it was just as much my fault as it was hers, but my words wouldn't form in my mouth. She let me go and stared into my crimson blue eyes, and I stared back into her hazel ones.

"Come on Ethan, you wouldn't want to get in even bigger trouble, let's go", she said. I still didn't move, this time from confusion. I saw something in her eyes that I had never seen before. It gave me a fluttery feeling in my stomach.

Before I could agree to going, she embraced me again.

"I know it's scary for you, but we have to go", she whispered into my ear. She loosened her grip on me but didn't completely let go. Instead, she affectionately kissed me on the cheek. My face instantly changed to a burning red. She backed away and smiled at my current color.

"Hmmhmm…Are you really that embarrassed by a friendly kiss on the cheek", she giggled. I smiled.

"That really did seem a bit affectionate for a _friendly _kiss", I replied, putting the emphasis on friendly. I had forgotten all about seeing Lord Death for the moment.

"Haha, very funny, but it was just a _friendly _kiss, at least you're not worried anymore", she said. She was right, I didn't care about being scared about anything, not so long as I was with her.

"Let's go, however Lord Death punishes us, we'll be ready", I said. She nodded, and we made our way through the hallway.

**I really liked this chapter. Remember the first five registered reviewers will get a prize, so get those fingers typing!**


	4. Our Punishment

**I know I'm updating like crazy, but that's only because I like to get my stories off the ground quickly.**

Our Punishment

The guillotines stood motionless above our heads as we walked under them. Normally, I may have been scared of them falling down upon us, but Amaya's hand was locked with mine, so I just kept walking. Soon after we started down the hall, we started to hear voices.

"…and that's exactly what happened, Lord Death. Ethan and Amaya should be here soon, huh, speak of the Devils", Knell spoke as we made our way inside the Death Room. I looked around. The Death Room was sort of the opposite of what I expected. I expected an eerie fog, and barren ground full of graves. Instead, it was full of grass, and it had a bright blue sky with the sun shining down upon the windless moving clouds. Some crosses and graves protruded from the ground, though. In the middle of the room was a giant round concrete slab. At one side, a big mirror stood, and at the opposite end, some steps to step up on the slab. Lord Death stood in front of the mirror.

"Hello, you two, Knell just explained what happened", Lord Death said. He was a little less cheery than usual. I felt my pulse quicken when I let go of Amaya's hand.

"I'm afraid to inform you that this event cannot go unpunished", Lord Death announced. We made our way up to catch to Knell and her partner.

"Fighting in school here is not a very serious offense, not so long as it is supervised. Unsupervised fighting, however, can be a very serious matter. Imagine if two very strong pairs were to fight unsupervised. The battle could get so intense that they could destroy a part of the Academy, and we certainly could not have that could we?" Lord Death explained. I managed to keep my nervousness on the inside, now. I was trying to overcome all of the fears of whatever punishment Lord Death was going to give us.

"Lord Death, sir, please, if you would, punish me instead of the others, I may as well have directly told Ethan to fight Black Star, and Knell wouldn't have to step in if it wasn't for that", Amaya pleaded.

"I am sorry, but it is not just you that encouraged the fight, it was Ethan who agreed to it also, whether it be he agreed to it consciously or unconsciously", Lord Death replied.

"So, what is our sentence", Knell's partner spoke up. He didn't seem to show any hesitation or fear in his voice; it was strong and backed with confidence.

"I have decided that your punishment will be one that will help you all get along. You four, as well as Black Star and Tsubaki, will be leaving to retrieve a lost relic. We believe that it is in a cave far off in Brazil. This cave, the Cave of Lost time, is said to contain a Kishen that controls time itself, giving the cave its name. That is just a rumor, though, the odds are of a Kishen that strong are about a billion to one. Hundreds of Kishen are said to dwell there, so don't let your guard down", Lord Death explained.

"Exactly what is this 'relic' we're supposed to get", I asked, retaining the calm in my words.

"I am glad you asked Eric. The relic you are to retrieve is called the Clock of Forbidden Time", Lord Death answered. Our confused looks made him continue.

"The Clock of Forbidden Time is a very powerful magical tool. I believe it was created by an old witch by the name of Almandea. Its purpose is to draw in time, and use it to cause mayhem and destruction to this world. I am not entirely sure how it is able to do this, but what is known is that we cannot let any of our enemies near it", he told us.

"A tool that can control time…", Knell mused. I looked at her. She seemed to be deeply in thought.

"Knell, have you been paying attention at all? I explained that this relic only draws in time and uses it to cause mayhem and destruction. You may have misunderstood my explanation", Lord Death said. Knell's face turned red in embarrassment.

"When do we leave", Knell's partner asked.

"You all will leave as soon as Black Star is conscious. I want you to go back to the entrance corridor. You wouldn't want to miss the opening ceremony would you", Lord Death said.

With that, he dismissed us. We left the Death Room and made our way back the way we had entered. Amaya and I slowed our pace until Knell and Eric were ahead of us. She gently grasped my hand and my nervousness subdued. I sighed silently.

_Back at the entrance…_

"…Everyone, please gather in the center here, we are about to start!" called a man standing over everyone. Everyone's attention turned to the lab coated figure. I studied him. He was odd person. His head looked like someone had driven a screw in his head. As I looked closer, I saw that it was a giant screw.

_Weird, _I thought, _well, I guess it's weird to have two snake spirits living inside of you, too._

I let those thoughts go and followed Amaya, who was moving through the crowd. My curiosity was greater than my nervousness and I wasn't noticing the number of people around me, just the excited girl in front of me. I found myself soon next to her, well _right _next to her. The front of the crowd was so dense that everyone was packed. Not that I was going to complain. She looked at me and smiled with excitement. Just as I was wondering up, the man spoke up.

"We are pleased to welcome you all to the Death Weapons Meister Academy. Any Meister or Weapon that hasn't found a partner, please gather to the left of the entrance doors. Those of you that have, you may enter the school, your classes will be posted in the halls", he announced.

I felt Amaya's excitement drop as mine hit my feet. We were both thinking the same thing. As a herd of Meisters and Weapons moved to the left of us, we pushed our way inside. I looked around the smaller group around us for Knell, who disappeared when we made it outside. Now that we were back inside, I looked at one of the papers taped to the wall and found my name.

_Tokomashi, Ethan and Weapon….Tower Room 435_

"I can't believe that was the opening _Ceremony_", Amaya griped. She turned and started off. I guessed she knew where we needed to go.

"I think Lord Death just exaggerated", I said, leaving the wall and following her to the room.

"I think he said that just so we would hurry back", she complained. Having nothing else to do she lifted the headset from her neck to her ears, drowning out all sound. I knew she drowned it all out because I could hear it from three feet away. I shrugged and just kept up alongside her.

After sometime, I saw that the halls repeat themselves. All of the doors looked exactly like the other, as did the torches that lit them. The only thing different was the numbers on each of the doors. I was really caught up in the architecture that I didn't see Amaya stop and walked right into her. She lost her balance and almost fell. The only thing that kept her from tasting the floor was my hand as it reached out to grab hers. I kept my posture as I pulled her back up. She looked surprise as she was fully back up. She shook her head and stooped to pick up her headset that slip from her head. She placed them on her neck again, instead of her head.

"Nice reflexes", she commented, and thanks. Well, we better get up to our room. I looked up at the endless spiral staircase. It was empty.

"Well, at least it's empty", I sighed. She looked at me curiously.

"Why exactly are you afraid of people", she asked. I felt depression set in my stomach.

"I don't want to talk about it", I whispered. I tried to move past her, but her arm blocked my way. She now looked concerned, if not scared. She gently grasped my arm.

"I want to know, so I can help you regain your former bravery", she said, looking into my eyes.

"How did…", I started. She looked away, embarrassed. By now I was wondering just what was going on.

"Well, you see, the Renku family carries a unique characteristic within our blood", she said. She was smiling. It was the kind of smile you smile when you know you are about to embarrass yourself and someone else on purpose.

"And that characteristic would be", I replied.

"It's not really that unique, more embarrassing and strange than anything, though", she nervously giggled.

"And this characteristic would be…", I repeated, anxious to figure out why she was acting this way. To answer me, she dropped her grip on my arm and placed my hands in hers and looked into my eyes. No…she was looking past my eyes, more like into my soul.

_You see, Ethan, when we hold hands, I can read your mind, and can hear your thoughts. I can also speak to you, like I do when in weapon form. I bet you thought that all Weapons can do this, didn't you. No, they can't. I can do this without exhausting my Soul Energy doing so. Sort of like a telepath, just with touch, _she spoke into me. I was terrified. If she could read my mind and hear my thoughts through just holding hands, then she could know a lot about me. The question was, just how much did she already know? I feared for my life, because of Critesce and Zero.

I quickly pulled away and turned my back to her.

"How much do you know", I asked, shakily.

"Not much, just some of the things that I just couldn't help but hearing. You were thinking so loud that I couldn't just block it out. I didn't just go through your mind. That would be like breaking into your home. It's a violation of your privacy. I remember hearing something about your living with Knell and how you used to be brave", she explained. I relaxed. She didn't know.

"I'm sorry, but I really want to know what happened for you to lose your bravery", she said. I warmed up and swallowed the fear of my secret.

"Okay, I'll tell you", I said. She leaned against a wall and listened intently.

"Here goes. I used to be really brave. Not just you're regular brave, a kind of brave that would put very skilled Meisters to shame. Well, one day, Knell and I were playing in the park. We were seven then. Marie, our guardian, wasn't there, she had stayed home to make us dinner. It eventually got to a point where Knell and I were playing hide-and-seek. I was looking for her when a small group of bullies walked up to me. They were about nine. Being my old self back then, I didn't really pay them any attention. That is until they thought they were going to show me how tough they were. By the time Knell had shown up, they had hurt me pretty badly. Knell had always been the stronger of the two of us. When she saw what had happened to me, she beat each of them into a quivering, twitching pulp. She was too late, the damage had already been done. My courage toward people had been crushed. I'm glad that it was just that, as you know, my feelings toward danger and other things to that nature have stayed. I'm just not a people person anymore", I explained.

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll help you back to your former self", Amaya said.

"I don't think that can happen. Marie and Knell have been working for years now, but they haven't been able to help. I don't know what makes you think you can", I said, wanting to be far away from the spot I was currently standing on.

"What makes me think I can, is one little simple thing", she replied. I looked back into her face.

"What's that?"

She grabbed my hands.

_This_, she cooed into me. She leaned into me, eyes closed. I couldn't move, the situation had gone beyond my control. Before I knew what was happening, I felt her soft, pink lips on mine. She had kissed me. It was short lived, after five seconds, she parted.

"Now, before we're late", she said, gently beaming. I started to follow her up the stairs.

"Hey, you two. Are you Amaya and Ethan", someone's voice called. We turned to see someone jogging after us. She was an averaged sized woman. Her eyes were yellow, with hair to match. She had somewhat short hair, except for two long strands that lined either side of her face and twirled around each other until they came to a stop at her chest. She was dressed in a white lab coat, and was carrying a clipboard.

"Yes, who are you", I replied.

"I'm the D.W.M.A.'s nurse, Medusa Gorgon. Lord Death sent me to inform you that Black Star is fully conscious, and that he wants to meet you at the front of the Academy", she panted. Apparently she had looked all over the school for us.

"Okay, we're going right now", Amaya replied. She grabbed me by the wrist and guided me away from the staircase.

"Well, I guess we start our punishment sooner than we thought, right", I said.

"Right."

**T.R.E. updates start Monday.**


	5. Brazil: Our Assignment

**Finally, I'm back on schedule.**

Brazil: Our Assignment

The ride to Brazil was horribly uneventful, especially if you're trying to hide from Black Star. My entire time on the ship was spent in a small, quiet corner with Amaya trying to convince me that I would have to confront Star eventually. Knell and her partner, Rex, became friends with Black Star and Tsubaki after Knell agreed with Black Star that she got lucky when she beat him. Amaya and I became friends with Tsubaki, since she was a very gentle person. It made me wonder exactly how she and Black Star became partners.

We made port in Salvador and would have to walk through the port city and meet with a D.W.M.A. Operative near a river that ran to the ruins that held the cave. The six of us would sail down the river and then collect the artifact after we made our way down into the cave. We were told that there was a witch that also wanted the artifact. We could encounter some resistance.

"Before we continue, we should get some more supplies", Tsubaki suggested. We all looked at her and thought about her suggestion.

"What more could we need? The D.W.M.A. already gave us what we needed and more", Knell said. She looked toward her partner for support.

"We could pick up some more food. I don't think we were given enough", Tsubaki replied.

"There's enough. Just so long as we stay on schedule. Now let's get going, I want to get this over with", Rex said. He had an attitude that I didn't approve of, but I can't be one to judge, he was better than Star.

"Yeah, we'll show Lord Death that nothing can stop us!" Black Star shouted. I sighed, his ego was bigger than the ship we sailed to Brazil on. We started to walk through the city toward the jungle behind it.

The boat that would take us to the ruins was located a small distance into the jungle. When we started into the jungle, I knew Tsubaki was right when she said we could use some supplies. The mosquitos were eating me alive. And by looking at the other five, it was only me. Some insect repellent would have been nice.

"Will you quit dancing? It's really getting annoying", Amaya said as I was jumping around, slapping at the blood suckers on my skin.

"Do you think I'm enjoying this?" I asked, smacking one more mosquito off of my arm.

"Quiet", Black Star said. He looked around. "Tsubaki, Shuriken Mode."

"Right", she said, and transformed into a giant ninja star.

"Come out, or I'll cut this entire area down!" called Black Star. I grabbed Amaya's wrists and she transformed into her Dual Sword form. Knell's partner was right behind Amaya, he was now in weapon form as well. We heard some rustling in the brush to our left.

"There you are", Black Star shouted. He threw Tsubaki in the direction of the noise. She spun so fast the thin vegetation was cleared, leaving only a small, low clearing. Someone who had been ducking during the vegetation's slaughter stood up. Someone wearing a hooded cloak. Just like the person I saw earlier. The hood hid the face, but it didn't matter, whoever this was, was here.

"Tsubaki, Chain Scythe Mode", Star said. I was too shocked to move, my stalker was here, not even twenty feet away. Knell rushed forward, ready to bring Rex down on the cloaked figure's head. As soon as the hammer was an inch above the figure's head, he or she slid left. The figure didn't attack. The only thing he or she did was keep their hands inside the cloak.

"You think you're big just because you can dodge attacks. Why don't you fight back", Black Star yelled, slashing the air where the figure once was.

"What are you doing you idiot, help them", Amaya said. I gripped her tighter and sprinted at our opponent. I got close and swiped both of Amaya's blades outward, making a scissor like slice in front of me. My arms swung behind me and the figure landed on Amaya's right sword. My eyes widened at the speed. Was this person taunting us? I turned around and sliced the air where the person should have been.

The figure ducked under and got real close to me. I caught a glimpse at the person's eyes. They were female. She quickly backed up and stood still. I rushed forward, throwing wild attacks, each one missing more badly than the last. When Black Star finally stepped in, the figure ran past me as Tsubaki's chain flew around us. Black Star pulled and I was bound tightly as our opponent jumped out of sight. There we were, thee Meisters and their weapons, two of which were currently trapped by our comrade. Our opponent got away. Knell looked so mad, Lord Death may have been scared to say anything.

"Black Star you idiot, you caught Ethan instead of whoever that was!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry, it's not my fault he couldn't get out of the way, maybe my stardom blinded him. He didn't even look like he wanted to move", Black Star retorted. She sighed.

"Just let him go so we can get going", Knell said, aggravated. I felt the chains loosen up and I fell to the ground, gasping hard. Knell transformed back to human form and put two hands on my shoulders.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just real startled."

"Let's go, this stage isn't fit for such a big star like me", Black Star said. I wanted to kick him, but he was right, we needed to get going.

"Good day, mates", a heavily Australian accented man greeted us at the docks that would start our way to the ruins. The boat was small and old; it looked as if it had come from the ancient Mayans.

"Hello, we don't have time to chat, just get us to the ruins", Rex said. Black Star growled, he probably was upset that Rex had "stolen" his "spotlight". I rolled my eyes and helped Amaya balance as she sat next to me. Black Star jumped to the front and pointed down the river.

"Let's go. We don't have time to waste", he announced. The engine roared to life and we were carried with the current at a swift pace.

The ride was quiet. No one tried to make conversation. We just savored the stillness of the jungle. Everyone seemed tense. I couldn't blame them, we just got shown up by mystery opponent and we were facing a big challenge. The jungle started to thin as we got closer to the remains of the ancient city. It wasn't completely gone when we arrived, but it was still thick enough to slow our journey.

"Let's go, I'm going to get that artifact and show Lord Death how much of a star I am, not that I need to", Black Star said, taking charge. We all climbed out.

"You have until dusk. If you don't get back before then, I'll leave. Good luck", our driver said.

"We'll be back in no time", I said. The six of us started off. The remains of the city stood over us, worn and covered by vines and other vegetation.

"The map points to the cave being in a pyramid", Tsubaki said.

"You mean that one", Knell said, pointing to a very tall and crumbled structure.

"Yeah, that's it."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get in and get out, before we're discovered", Rex said. He changed into his weapon form and landed in Knell's awaiting hands. Amaya changed and landed in mine. Tsubaki followed the others and changed into her Ninja Sword Mode.

"Race you there", I said. With a jolt, I sprinted forward.

"Hey, you're not stealing my stage!" Black Star called after me. Even though Knell didn't say anything, I knew she was after us. Every time I called a challenge, she was there to try and show me up.

I made it to the bottom and jumped to a ledge and continued to jump to every ledge and niche that I could reach.

"Bet you didn't know you could do this", Amaya said, as I landed on another ledge.

"Do what?"

"Jump like you are now."

"I didn't, but ever since I teamed up with you, I can do a lot more than I could."

As I was jumping to another platform, something fell on my head and pushed me down. I regained my composure and landed.

"Ahahaha! I told you, there's only one star fit for the stage. That's me", Black Star boasted. Knell landed on the same ledge I was on and flashed a cocky smile at me. She jumped and I growled. I flew into the air, performed a front flip, and used Amaya to push off of the wall, farther up the pyramid. I landed on the last ledge and saw Black Star looking toward the wall in front of him. I got closer and examined the giant slab of stone.

"Where the hell is the cave?" Black Star yelled. I checked the map, we were on the right pyramid. I heard Knell land behind us.

"Where's the cave?"

I walked around the side of the cube top to see if it was on another side. I studied every part of the cube top. The only thing I found was a small hole, but it wasn't deep. I went back to regroup with the others. Amaya changed back into human form.

"Do you think we went too high", she suggested. I shrugged. Knell leaned against the wall. There was a deep "thud". This caught my attention. I walked up to her and knocked on the wall. It sounded hollow. Knell got off of the wall and knocked too. I decided to try something. I reached back and punched the wall as hard as I could. Ow, that hurt, but it got us somewhere. My fist went through the wall.

"It's hollow", I said through gritted teeth. I rubbed the knuckles on my hand. Knell took a couple of steps back.

"Stand back, I'm going in", she said. Before she could drive Rex through the wall, Black Star drove his foot through it. The whole wall caved in. Behind it was a deep hole.

I ignored Black Star's bragging and dropped a flare into the hole. It fell until it hit bottom. I had to estimate the floor was about forty feet down. I felt for some sort of ladder. There was one, but it was really worn. We wouldn't have to use our repelling equipment if we just used the ladder.

"Black Star, you first", I said. He looked at me.

"Great idea, I am the star here after all", he replied. I heard Tsubaki sigh. He jumped down into the hole. What an idiot.

"_Master Ethan, may we talk now?" _Zero asked. I totally forgot about those two!

"_Yeah, sorry you guys, I guess I was too caught up in my punishment that I forgot about you"_, I said in my head.

"_Thank you, Master Ethan, we were worried that you were still upset with us", _Critesce said.

"_No, I can't stay mad at you two, but could you keep quiet for now, I need to concentrate"_, I said, climbing down the ladder.

"_Yes, we will, just give us the word when we can talk again"_, Zero answered.

I made it to the bottom about a minute later. Amaya was still about halfway. I heard a crack.

"Aaahh!" she cried when the rung she had grabbed crumbled. She fell backwards and downwards. I put my arms out hand caught her. She had her eyes shut tight. When she felt she hadn't died, she opened them. She quickly scrambled out of my arms. I knew she was blushing because of the light from my flare on the ground.

"Nice catch", Black Star said. I was shocked. Did he just congratulate me?

"Thanks", I said, not sure if I meant it or not.

"Alright, we have to get going", Rex said after he helped Knell down. Everyone started to walk down the slanted corridor, but I stayed. I pulled some charges from my vest. I placed four at the base of the ladder.

"What are you doing", Tsubaki asked.

"Placing Soul Charges in case we have to leave in a hurry and something is chasing us", I explained, arming the last one. I knew my way around explosives.

"Let's go, and stay quiet, if you get to loud this old place can come down on our heads", Black Star ordered. I had to admit, he could be cool when he wanted.

Our party of six traveled deeper into the tunnel. Torches lined the walls, indicating we weren't alone. We came upon a three way fork in our path.

"What now", Amaya asked.

"We split up, unless, you would rather go with me", Black Star said. He surprised me again. He didn't say his statement as a way to comfort us. He knew we were low level Meisters, and that we should probably stick by him.

"We split up", I announced, "Amaya and I will go right, Black Star, you and Tsubaki will go left. Knell, you and Rex are going through the middle."

They all agreed, despite my sudden taking charge. After we were out of earshot, Amaya spoke up.

"Nice, maybe you aren't so afraid of people after all", she said.

"No, I'm just used to you guys", I replied. She didn't speak after my statement. I heard something farther down the tunnel in front of us.

"You hear something", I asked. Amaya stopped and listened. She shook her head. We continued along, and I heard it again. It sounded like something was scraping the stone floor. I soon made out a figure walking toward us. In its hand, was a large, rusty machete, rubbing against the ground. Amaya saw it too, and changed into her weapon form. I got into a defensive stance, placing Amaya's left blade backwards in my hand. Ten yards away, the figure stopped, looked up, and groaned. My heart hit my throat. The Kishen's face was bandaged and blood stained. Every joint was inverted. Its fingers were scabbed and cut up. It stared at me, as if it were trying to make out what we were.

"Get ready", Amaya said. With no warning what so ever, the Kishen charged at me. Its weapon was still dragging the ground. I tensed and waited. Swinging the machete over its head, the Kishen tried to do me in with one attack. Luckily, I was ready with a defensive barrier. I used Amaya's left blade to block the attack. The force drove me back some. I swiped Amaya's free sword at our opponent. It jumped back with a speed that surprised me. It charged at me again, the exact same way it did the first time. I was ready this time. I strafed right. The attack hit the ground where I was. I struck again. I missed this time too. This thing was faster than I imagined. It moved slightly and started to throw attacks at me. I started to dodge and block with Amaya. The strikes kept coming, I soon found it hard to keep up with the attacks. Then, it raised its machete, and drove it down upon me. I used both of Amaya's swords to block it. Its strength over whelmed me and we were both sent flying backwards. It hit so hard that Amaya screamed and unconsciously transformed back into her human form. We hit the opposite wall. I fell to the floor, unable to get up. I watched the Kishen walk at me. I was more angry than scared. I could barely move, yet my opponent was going to finish us. I felt so stupid.

The Kishen raised its weapon for what I thought was going to be the last time and swung it downwards. Something from behind me flew at the Kishen. It hit it and my attacker was sent flying backwards. My savior landed in front of me. I was stunned. It was the hooded woman. She grabbed the shoulder of her cloak, and threw it from her. Underneath, she was blonde. She had two weapons. One was a pure white sword, hanging from her waist. The other, was a purple and black staff, with a moonstone at one end. Her she was wearing a plain green outfit. The Kishen was now back on its feet. She pointed a finger at it.

"Murderer Green Jack, your soul is tainted with evil, you have violated the law of devouring human souls. I'm here to take yours", she said.

It lunged at her. She smirked. She ran low, and gave it a quick kick to the stomach. It hit the ground. With no time to react, she came down, feet first, and decapitated the monster. I was amazed, she didn't even need to use her weapons. The Kishen formed into a red egg soul. She took it and stowed it into a bag she had. The girl turned to me and gave me a thumbs up, while smiling. I gasped. I knew that signature gesture anywhere.

"Sis?" I uttered.

**Well, what a twist.**

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	6. More Obstacles

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More Obstacles

"Where-you-why", I stuttered. Holly dropped her smile and approached me and Amaya. She knelt beside my partner. At first I thought she was going to check Amaya's pulse. I was mentally shocked when Holly just simply poked her until she stirred. She moved Amaya into a sitting position.

"She'll be okay", Holly said, "She just needs a few minutes. I'm honestly disappointed in you. You used her to block an attack you could have just dodged."

"Sis, why, no…where-", I stammered.

"What happened that night all those years ago?" she asked. I nodded.

"We should have time before your friend wakes up. I'm sure you remember the attack. Mom told me to go to Death's Haven. I said I wouldn't leave until I found you. I searched that house up and down for you. I guess you had already fled, or you were taken. I was reluctant, but I left without you. I didn't know exactly where I was going and I found that I was hopelessly lost soon after. I walked for about a day before a gang of marauders found me. Since I was so young, they took me in as their own. I found a new family among them. I made two friends. Julian Hirokoshima, the Demon Light Sword, and Katelyn Hirokoshima, the Demon Shadow Staff. We were taught all the basic and much of the advanced techniques the marauders knew. I found that I was Multiple Weapons Meister. Meaning, my soul is very flexible. I can match Wavelengths with almost any weapon I encounter. Anyway, when I turned fifteen, I took my weapons and left. We were going to the D.W.M.A. After we made it, we went to Lord Death with our story. He agreed to let us stay until we could find a home of our own. Unfortunately, he failed to mention that you were in Death City as well. I found out after hearing that Maka had broken up a fight with you and Black Star. I found out where you were, stowed away on your ship, and followed you until you need my help."

"Wait, you were in Death City for a year, and you never saw me?" I asked.

"Well, I spent most of my time in the library, I barely left the Academy", she replied.

"Are you going to ask how I've been", I asked. She looked past me, and shook her head.

"There'll be plenty of time for that after we're done here", she said. I remained quiet, trying to come up with another conversation while we waited for Amaya to wake up.

"I assume you know about the animal spirit within you?" Holly asked. I shot her a shocked glance.

"Yeah, how did you know", I asked, completely amazed.

"Because you're not alone", she replied. She was staring off into space. "Salvatore, you can come out now."

From her back, exited a panther. It was silver, but its features were clearly distinguished. It had no back legs. Its backside was connected to Holly, and moved around her body.

"So, what do you have?" she asked as if we were trading lunches.

"Zero, Critesce, come out", I called. As if they were waiting, both snakes flung themselves from my body. They came from my shoulders then stayed.

"Two? How is that", she mused. Holly started to murmur to herself.

"I'll have some tea with breakfast", Amaya said. Immediately, our animal spirits withdrew back into our bodies.

"We'll talk later", Holly said, fetching her cloak.

"Welcome back to the land of the waking", I said, helping Amaya to her feet. She looked at me and let her eyes adjust. I have to admit I could feel my face heat up slightly, but she looked away.

"Sorry, I couldn't hold it together", she said. I wanted to say it was my fault, but she saw Holly first. To my misfortune, she was wearing her cloak again.

"Ethan!" she yelled. She was in her Weapon Form and was in my hands before I could react. I stood, dumbfounded.

"What are you waiting for, attack already", she said. I turned her right blade so that I could see her reflection in it.

"You should really think before you act", I said. Her reflection showed her shock.

"Why don't you come out of your weapon form and I'll introduce you to my sister", I said.

The introduction was quick. Amaya didn't seem to like my sister. I guess this was mainly due to the fact that Holly had shown me up in the jungle. After we had fully recovered, we all quickly made our way back the way we had come. We had wasted enough time with the attack and had to make up for lost time. No one talked, and I couldn't blame them. It felt like we were being watched the entire time. I even found myself glancing behind us for a potential follower.

Amaya was back in her weapon form for the reason that Holly said it would be safer. I had yet to see her weapons' human form.

The tunnels were almost like catacombs, the only thing missing was tombs. I saw that the torches were going dim. It was getting even spookier now that the light was even more restricted in the damp, musty caves. Holly didn't seem to be at all affected. I wondered what it was with her. This wasn't the Holly I grew up with and was separated from.

At the fork we stopped. I placed Amaya against the wall.

"What are you doing", Holly asked me.

"Planting more Soul Charges, I have bad feeling in the pit of my stomach", I replied. I placed one in between each branch in the tunnel. I would guess now is a good time to explain just how a Soul Charge works. Each charge is similar to that of a plastic explosive. I tightly wrap a concoction of explosive powders and gel in a special thin, self-weaved cotton container. The charges are just shyly bigger than C-4, but pack a bigger punch. These charges can't have a set timer because there is no detonator on the charge itself. The only way to light these charges is with my soul. My soul has many wiry appendages. Meaning, I can lash out and touch other things. It is unable to cause harm on its own. That's where the charges come in. My soul can strike the explosive powders and light them. I found out I can detonate my charges from up to one hundred feet away.

"Let's go down this one", Holly said. She pointed down the one that Knell had gone down. I wondered if she knew Knell was down there. It didn't matter, the artifact was down one of these tunnels.

I picked up Amaya and we started down the channel. I tried to focus on the task at hand, but so much had happened that I found it hard. I had questions and wanted answers.

About halfway down we heard what sounded like a small explosion, followed by a small shockwave.

"Was that an earthquake?" Amaya asked. There were several more outburst before and more rippling shockwaves.

"No, that's Knell, she's under attack", I said. I sprinted forward, careful to watch my footing as the light got dimmer. As I got farther down the tunnel, the tremors became more violent, making it hard to keep up a steady pace. Holly was beside me. The hood of her cloak was finally down. From the looks of it, she had her hand on the white sword she said was Julian.

"HAAA! Take that! And that! And this!" I could hear Knell shouting. She came into view. At first all I could see was her swinging Rex around. As we got closer, I could see a large swordsman. He wasn't a disgusting as the Kishen that had taken me, and I would have gladly have traded opponents with her. The man was a very muscular and he was taller than anyone I've ever seen. He was fighting with swords. Katanas to be exact. He was blocking and dodging Knell's attacks with ease. He was definitely stronger than she was, which would explain why his arms didn't buckle under the pressure she was putting on him. The confined space also posed a problem for her. She couldn't swing Rex high enough without hitting the ceiling. She had to resort to using side swiping attacks.

The samurai could have finished her off with ease, but he was toying with her. He seemed to be feeding on her anger. He saw us coming and was about to drive his sword through Knell before we could get in to help. Luckily, Knell heard our footsteps and jumped back to avoid the sword that would have undoubtedly sliced her open.

I flew over her and brought Amaya down on our opponent's swords. Holly knew what I was getting at and delivered a high kicked to the samurai's chest. He staggered backwards and I fell to the ground. Holly took his distraction into account and rushed forward again. He regained his posture again and swung a sword forward. She grabbed her cloak and threw it on his head. Using a sword holding hand, he managed to pull it off. Knell had gotten to him before he could react. She swung Rex upward and smashed the man in the chest. She didn't stop there, however. Instead of withdrawing Rex and letting her attacker drop to the ground, she drove him into the ceiling. She then removed Rex and let him drop to the ceiling. Not to let him get up again, Knell choked up on Rex's handle and crushed the swordsman beneath him. The body burst into a red energy and reconfigured into a Kishen Egg.

Knell snatched it from the air.

"I'll take that", Rex said as his upper body crawled out of the head of the hammer until the head disappeared. Knell handed it to him and he ate it noisily. When he was done, he transformed fully back into his weapon form.

"Thanks, I almost had him though", Knell said. She walked over and gave me a high five. Holly was looking around for her cloak.

"Are you going to introduce us to your friend", Knell asked me.

"Yeah. Knell, meet Holly Tokomashi, my sister", I replied. Knell stared at me in disbelief. Holly had found her cloak and put it on.

"Aghr, it's ripped", she said. Knell turned to look at her.

"Hey you're that girl that attacked us earlier", she said.

"Wrong, I'm that girl that was stalking you", Holly replied. Knell looked at me with an unamused expression.

"Yeah, that's your sister alright", she said nonchalantly. I sighed, glad that Knell didn't react like Amaya did.

"Now that we've all been introduced, let's go, I'm sure Black Star is getting lonely", Holly said, she turned and walked on. Knell was right behind her. I brought up the rear. Amaya shifted back into her human form.

"Before you say anything, I don't care how much safer it is, I'm staying out, I need to hold your hand, besides, I'm getting a cramp", she said low enough for me only to hear. She grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

"Does this mean what I think it does", I whispered to Amaya.

"Yeah, I suppose it does", she replied. The tunnel was widening as we went farther down it. It eventually opened up and let us into a large room.

"What is this place", Knell asked. Holly took a good look around.

"It looks like the heart of the pyramid. The crypt", she explained. I broke away from Amaya and looked along the wall on both sides of us. It turned out all three tunnels led to the room. At the far end was a tall alter, with stairs leading to it. The top was covered, but light was shining from it. There was a bridge in front of us. One path to the alter. The ground below wasn't very deep. It was maybe ten feet down. But where was Black Star?

"Wait, something's off", Holly said, stopping dead in her tracks. She was at the thin overhanging platform that held our side of the bridge.

"What", I asked.

"This room was too easy to get into. It was just a straight path into it. And all three tunnels led here. There was only two, maybe three Kishen guarding this place. If this is a sacred room, then where is all of the resistance? Something is waiting on us to move on. I say we get ready for whatever it is", she said. I looked around for anything out of the ordinary. The crypt was different from the rest of the pyramid. It looked brand new. The other parts of the pyramid were crumbling with age, whereas this place was perfectly preserved.

"What do you propose we do", Knell asked walking forward so that she was standing next to Holly. Footsteps behind us made everyone turn. It was Black Star. He was walking out of his tunnel. He looked as if nothing at all was going on.

"What did I miss", he asked. Upon seeing Holly, he stopped.

"It's you again, huh? Well, I guess now you have nowhere to run. You have no choice to fight me now", he said, pointing Tsubaki at my sister.

"Wait, Black Star-", I started.

"No, you're mine", he threatened. Using the same speed he used on me earlier, he darted for Holly.

"No, you idiot", she yelled as she used her speed to dodge his attack. Knell jumped out of the way and landed just on the bridge. Holly landed on the edge of the platform and lost her footing and fell off of it. She landed on her feet. We all held our breath, as if Holly had just stepped on a sensitive bomb.

"Why aren't you fighting back?" Black Star shouted. His words echoed off of the walls.

"Black Star it's me", Holly yelled. She put her hood down.

"Holly? What the hell are you doing here? You're not trying to steal the credit for bringing back the artifact are you?" he asked. No one said another word as the room started to shake.

"What the?" I asked, trying to keep my balance. Amaya shifted back to her Weapon Form. Suddenly the room stopped. We all looked around, expecting it to fall apart. Motion down by Holly caught my attention.

"Holly behind you!" Knell shouted. Holly looked at the ground near her feet and saw that something was breaking through it. She jumped up and landed beside Black Star. I walked forward for a better look. All around us, hundreds of skeletons with a variety of weapons and armor were popping out of the ground I turned around and walked backwards until I felt Holly's behind me. They all stopped after climbing out of the ground.

"What are these things, zombies?" I heard Knell say on the bridge. I readied Amaya.

As soon as the first skeleton struck I was going to go through each one of them.

One by one.

**Longest chapter for this chapter ever. Remember REVIEW OR ELSE!**


	7. The Kishen

**Thanks for reviewing you guys. I'm sorry for pushing you like that, but the reviews weren't coming in fast enough to motivate me.**

The Kishen

The skeletons circled us. They stopped about five feet away. No one moved, we waited for them to strike first. It was also quiet, except for the occasional raspy sigh from one of the zombies.

I silently growled. They were trying to play mind games with us. I waited to see who would snap first. I knew I wouldn't, I couldn't be broken this easily. The dead stillness was eerie. Someone was going to crack soon, and depending on who it was decided my first move. Behind me, I heard Knell started to breathe hard.

I gripped Amaya a little tighter and waited. It was about thirty seconds before it happened.

The sound of Rex hitting the ground set all of us off. I shot toward the skeletons. I ran through them, swinging Amaya at each of the ones I passed. They fell easily with just one strike. Each skeleton fell apart into a pile of bones. When I reached the wall I turned around for another pass.

I couldn't see through the crowd to know where my allies were, but at one point I could see a big group of retreating skeletons followed by a giant hammer that was high in the air. Knell must have been having fun.

I raised Amaya to block an attack from an oncoming mace. I pushed Amaya forward and sent the skeleton flying into a group of his friends. They erupted into an explosion of bones.

"Strike!" Holly cheered. She had somehow gotten at my side. She still wasn't using her weapons. The zombies tried something else. The quickly surrounded us. Holly and I were back to back.

"Don't you think it would be a good idea to use your weapons", I called through the noise of the battle.

"I only use my weapons when the situation demands it", she said. The skeletons were closing in.

"I'd say this situation is pretty demanding", I replied. I took a step forward and swung Amaya at a few skeletons and they fell, only to be replaced with more.

"Duck!" Holly yelled. I knelt down without question. Something flew over us and took out the surrounding skeletons.

"Ahaha! That's right, fall before the mighty Black Star", Star yelled. He had used Tsubaki's Chain Scythe Mode to sweep the area around us clean. I rolled my eyes. Looking around, I saw that the only skeletons remaining were running from Knell. They proved too fast for her. Her frustration grew until she raised Rex and slammed him into the ground. The ground was picked up by the shockwave and was sent rippling through the skeletons. They flew through the air and burst on impact. We joined up with Knell and looked around for any survivors. I was waiting for the skeletons to rise again, to rebuild themselves.

"That was disappointing, I was hoping for a challenge", Holly said smugly.

"You guys were lucky that I was here", Black Star bragged, "If it wasn't for me we would never have won."

"Can it, Star, before I clamp your lips shut", Holly threatened.

"Is that a threat?"

"No, I was asking you nicely. This is a threat!" she said, grabbing Rex from Knell and stopped just as she was about to smash Black Star into the stone floor.

"Hey, what's the big idea you can't just take my weapon like that", Knell complained.

"Relax, I was just making a point", Holly said, handing Rex back to Knell.

"Let's go grab the device", I said. They agreed. Holly took point and led us over the bridge.

I brung up the rear. I liked to see what happened when it happened. It also helped me keep an eye out for the others. At the base of the alter, we drew straws to see who stayed behind. To my dismay, and Black Star's, we were to stay at the bottom while the girls went to retrieve the device.

"Where's that Kishen that Lord Death warned us about", Black Star asked.

"You're worried about it to, huh", I asked.

"No, I just hope it shows up so I can beat it to a twitching pulp", he said. That didn't surprise me. I closed my eyes to think. Zero and Critesce decided to imprint themselves on my retinas.

"_Do you think that the Kishen is just a rumor, like Lord Death said"_, Zero asked.

"_No, it's definitely here, there was almost no security here. We just have to wait", _I said.

I opened my eyes. I did it at the right time. The room started to shake.

"More skeletons?" Black Star asked rhetorically.

"No", I answered, I then called up the alter, "You two hurry up up there!"

"No answer", Black Star said. We looked at each other. He took off just a second before me. We were both skipping at least six or seven steps at a time. At the top, all of the air escaped my lungs when I saw the sight before us.

Knell and Holly were at the top. Knell was standing in front of a small pedestal. Her hand was outstretched and she was grabbing a black, stone clock. Holly was standing watch.

The worst part was that they were completely frozen in motion. Holly looked like she was about to attack something but never got to do it before this happened. Knell looked she was really enjoying grabbing the relic.

"What the-", stated Black Star.

"What happened", Amaya asked.

"Paralysis?" I suggested. I went to examine them. Neither looked like they were breathing. No movement whatsoever.

"Look Knell isn't even touching the artifact", Amaya pointed out. I looked closer at her hand. It was only an inch from the device.

"_Master Ethan behind you!" Critesce warned._ I instinctively did a backflip. A large talon clad foot flew under me and hit the brick floor. I landed and turned around to see a giant griffin. It's beak and one of its eyes was metal.

"Gyaaaaaa!" it screeched.

"So, you're the Kishen Lord Death was talking about", Black Star said.

I gripped Amaya harder.

"Bring it!" we said simultaneously. We ran forward. Black Star struck first. I blocked his attack with a metal wing. Its action caused it to stop flying and land on the stairs of the alter.

I used this as an advantage and jumped on top of it. I screeched and madly tried to shake me off. I raised Amaya's left blade and was going to stab the griffon in the head. Something grabbed me around the waist and threw me into the air. I assumed it was its tail. Black Star had tried to wrap Tsubaki's chain around its beak and use it as reigns. He made the same mistake as he did when he was fighting Knell. The griffon whipped its head around and threw Black Star in the same direction its tail threw me.

I was still in the air when he was and was about to hit the ground.

"Ethan, clip my two hilts together and spin them like a propeller", Amaya advised. I looked at where my hands were gripping her. There was an inlet on one blade where it looked like something clicked inside it. The other was a small outlet with two smaller round outlets on the sides. I quickly slid that one into the other and twisted them into place. After the "click", I lifted the double bladed weapon above my head and spun it like there was no tomorrow. I felt my decent slow and eventually I was hovering above the ground. I looked for Black Star. He was falling in my direction. I moved to the left and he landed by my side.

"Damn it, this thing is annoying. Tsubaki, Enchanted Sword Mode", he said. Tsubaki transformed into the black sword and the tattoos formed on Black Star's body again. He dashed forward. I took a second to think. That was the only thing I could do before a split second later, the griffon was in front of us and had whipped us with its tail. I was propelled backwards. I skidded to a halt at the beginning of the bridge. Black Star landed on top of me.

"What was that", I asked.

"It froze us in time and then attacked", Amaya said.

"That thing definitely froze Knell and Holly, but why didn't it keep us frozen", I contemplated.

"Because they're the most dangerous, and it can't use its time stopping powers on us for long while at the same time freezing them", Amaya answered. I looked back at Black Star. He was back on his feet and was now struggling with the griffon.

"Great, our most dangerous allies are frozen in time and now it's just a snobby assassin and a socially challenged low level Meister against a time stopping griffon", I said. I looked at Amaya for assistance. She didn't seem to have any.

I unclipped Amaya's blades and rushed forward again. And again, the griffon stopped time. I knew because as soon as I ran forward, it appeared in front of me and swung its talons at me again. I ducked to avoid being decapitated and jumped to try and land a hit. The next thing I knew, I was hit by its tail again. It wasn't a long flight before I hit Black Star. The force made us roll into a corner. It moved in for the kill, I stood up to try and defend us, but I wouldn't have been much help in my condition.

The griffon raised its giant feet and was about to strike. Then out of nowhere a purple and black beam of energy hit the griffon with enough force to send it to the ground. I looked in the direction of the beam. Holly was standing on the top of the alter, with her staff weapon in hand. Her entire appearance had changed. She was now wearing a dark purple and black dress. Her hair had changed color and was now black.

"Oh, it's been so long since I've done that! Prepare for death, Kishen!" she yelled with childlike excitement. Even her personality had changed. Knell flew from behind her, she looked like someone had just stolen her birthday cake, and if you know Knell, you know that meant someone was going to die shortly.

"Their unfrozen", Amaya cheered.

"Looks like the tide of battle just turned", Black Star said behind me.

"Great, now I have to outdo them", I said sarcastically.

"Ethan, do you know what a Soul Resonance is", she asked.

"Not really, I've heard the term before, though", I replied. The griffon was now in the air. Knell was trying to jump and bring it down and wasn't getting anywhere.

"I'll briefly explain. A Soul Resonance occurs when a Meister and his Weapon's souls resonate in harmony. It requires concentration on both parts. We have to perform one to beat this thing…and to outdo the other two", she explained. Black Star had run to try and help the girls, leaving me alone.

"Okay, let's do it", I said.

"Right, I'll start, when you feel it, concentrate on focusing your soul into me", she said. I relaxed my body. I felt the energy that was flowing from her into me increase fivefold. I pushed my soul into her.

"Not so hard. Try and relax, do it slowly, smoothly", she advised. I slowed my approach. I felt my energy building. It was about seven seconds before I knew it was time.

"Now, Soul Resonance!" I shouted. The area around me buckled into a crater at our resonance.

"Traditional Art of the Dual Weapons Meister", I announced instinctively, Amaya's blades were replaced by blue raging light, "Soul Weapon Technique!"

Everything around me slowed down. My genes had finally caught up to me. The Tokomashi Clan's speed had finally found me. I shot forward, everything a blur as I ran. The griffon saw me coming but couldn't react before Amaya's Soul Blades sliced off a portion of its wing. I slowed my speed so that I could cooperate with the others, who were trying to ground it. I ran forward after they had gotten it to the ground, and step jumped off of the griffon's large beak. Black Star caught its back legs with shadows. Knell was stunning it with hammer strikes to the side. Holly had her legs around its neck and was trying to keep it from moving too much. I turned in midair. I used my soul wavelength to grab the ceiling and so I could stay in the air.

"I'm ready to finish this. It's time for the Ancient Soul Finisher Technique of the Dual Weapons Meister", I announced. Amaya's form changed from Soul Blades to Soul Scythes

"Soul Harvester!" I screamed. I used my soul to propel me forward that had to have been close to the speed of sound. I used Amaya's scythes and struck in opposite motions to slice it in two. Since it was unable to move, I hit it with success. I don't even think Amaya touched it, because two giant energy waves left her and struck it. I hit the ground, so exhausted the only way I could move was down. I hit the ground, unconscious.

**There you have it. Review please! This chapter might have been thrown together please proofread.**

***Sorry, I just got internet access back***


	8. Ugh, Revovery is Hell

**Sorry for the late updates, my internet's out, I'm catching what wifi I can.**

Ugh, Recover is Hell

The last thing I remember before I lost complete consciousness was the horizontal ground turning vertical as I fell to it, and the feet of my friends rushing over to me.

When I next opened my eyes I moaned at the pain. It hurt everywhere, I could feel every part of my body without touching it. I didn't recognize the room I was in, but there were curtains drawn around me. Movement on the other side of the curtains made me speak up.

"Who's there", I groaned. It burned my gut to talk, but my curiosity got the better of me.

The curtains were pulled aside, revealing the school's nurse, Medusa.

"You're awake. Do you know where you are?" she greeted. I looked around, it didn't seem familiar to me.

Too hurt to speak, I shook my head.

"This is the D.W.M.A's infirmary, you over did it in Brazil and you've been out for about a day now", she explained. She leaned out of view, said something, and then leaned back. A few seconds later, my little curtain room was full of people. Amaya was the first one I saw. I almost wished she was the only one. Just seeing her made me feel better.

"Welcome back", she said. The smile she gave me was heartwarming, I wished I could kiss her, but the others made me keep that at bay. Let's see, I remember her, Holly, Maka, a white haired boy, Tsubaki, Black Star, Knell and Rex, and Lord Death piling in.

"Maka?" I asked, straining the words, "What are-"

"I thought that maybe we could be friends after you fought Black Star, so I came to see how you were doing", she interrupted. "You see, if you can put Black Star in his place, then you're okay in my books."

I almost chuckled, but my gut stopped me. Black Star almost yelled something, but someone stepped on his foot, shutting him up before he needed to be silenced.

"And before you ask, my name is Soul Eater Evans", the white haired boy said, "I heard what you did and had to congratulate you on such a cool technique."

"We got the device back, but the important thing is that you're safe", Holly said. I looked around, but couldn't see her Weapons, (or couldn't remember).

"That was a very good outcome, especially for your first mission. You have exceeded my expectations by far", Lord Death said. He held up his giant hand to wave at me, but hit Black Star in the face, knocking him out.

"Eh, sorry there", Lord Death apologized as Tsubaki bent down to help him back up.

"I gave the tainted soul to Amaya already. You guys deserved it after what you did", Black Star said, wiping blood from his nose. "But, mark my words, I won't let you steal my stage again."

I rolled my eyes. A door opened somewhere outside the curtains.

"Are they alright?" came a familiar voice, "I came as soon as I heard."

Marie practically flew around the curtain.

"Marie!" I cheered. I silently hated myself for that. The pain was so deep it hurt my lunch from whenever I ate last. She wrapped her arms around me gently, making sure that she didn't cause me anymore pain. Then she gave Knell a hug.

"How are my favorite Meisters?" she asked. Neither of us answered because it was obvious. I looked toward Medusa.

"When can I leave", I asked. If I didn't get out within the next few hours, boredom would kill me.

"You can go as soon as you eat something. I'll give you something for pain", Medusa called from the back of the crowd. I thought for a moment. There was something at the moment that I wanted more than anything in the world, but it wouldn't come to me. After some thinking, I think I got close.

"Could I please have some time alone with Amaya? I need to talk to her", I requested.

"Yes, you may. Okay, everyone, vacate the premises", Lord Death called. All at once, everyone but my Weapon left. On their way out, Marie and Knell flashed me looks that made me flush red. I even thought that Knell gave me a thumbs up. I didn't have a clue why.

"Well, we overdid it for our first Resonance, didn't we", Amaya asked when the door shut. She pulled up a stool and sat down.

"We can talk about that later", I said. To discontinue the pain of speaking, I gestured for her hand. She grabbed mine and I continued the conversation.

_That's better, it really hurts to talk. I want to talk about-, _I started.

_Us? Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I wanted to ask you a question, _she interrupted. Her eyes made me feel so warm and confident.

_What is it?_

_I'm your first, huh?_ she asked.

_Yes, what was your first clue? I'm socially unstable. I can barely walk down the street and keep my sanity, _I replied. She giggled, making my heart skip a beat.

_Actually, _she said, _I thought that maybe you and that Knell girl…_

_Knell? No, she's more like a sister to me, _I said. She looked away. I looked down at her hand. My attention was jerked to her wrists. They were wrapped in bandages.

_Amaya, what happened to your wrists? _I asked, concerned for her.

_Oh, well, every time you got stressed out, you squeezed my grips pretty hard. I'm sort of bruised, _she explained. I wanted to cry when she said that. I felt so terrible.

_I'm sorry,_ I said, tears forming. I wanted to give her a hug, but my pain wouldn't let me.

_It's alright, Ethan, it wasn't your fault, _she said. She leaned in and lightly hugged me, careful not to hurt me any further. It made me feel better, I was so comforted by her. It made me think about who was the stronger person. I smiled at the thought of trying to compete. When it came to strength, I had her, but when it comes down to bravery, she pushes me in the pool.

_Hey, _I said shyly, _I want to ask you something._

_What?_

_I was wondering if maybe…I can have another kiss? _I said nervously. She blushed.

_Wow, I really am your first, _she commented. She giggled nervously, making my heart skip a beat again.

She nodded her head and closed her eyes and started to lean toward me. I decided to follow her lead by closing my eyes. The pain kept me from moving forward.

A shock was sent through my body when our lips touched. It was amazing. Unlike our first kiss, this one was more passionate and lasted longer. After a few seconds, Amaya pulled away. She looked at the floor with an embarrassed smile on her face. She let my hand go.

"Heheh, I guess maybe I'm not as used to the dating thing as I used to be", she said nervously.

"Okay, I'm back with your medication. Take two of these and you should feel better in a matter of moments", Nurse Medusa announced, coming in. I gave her a weird look. It was almost as if she didn't want anything else to happen. It concerned me.

_Something tells me we should keep a watch on her, _Zero said, sharing my concern.

She came around the bed with a bottle of pills in her hand. She handed me two with her other. I tried to take them, but my hand just wouldn't move in spite of the pain. I shook my head in a way to tell her it was no good. I really didn't want to take them, but if it would help with the pain, I really didn't have a choice.

"I can get him to take it", Amaya said. She took the bottle and the two free ones from Medusa.

"Just take two whenever the pain comes back. If you run out and the pain still returns, come to me and I'll give you something stronger", she explained. She left to go attend to other matters, when she turned around, I could have sworn I saw a very questionable, wicked smile on her face.

_A very close watch, _Critesce added to Zero's previous statement.

Amaya turned to me.

"Relax, I'll help you up", she said. She put one of her arms under me and grabbed my arm using her other hand. She pulled me up, and then swung my feet over the side. It hurt, but not as much as I thought it would. She handed me the two capsules and a bottle of water. I took the medication and felt instant relief. I don't know what the medicine was, but it worked. Amaya handed me the bottle of medicine. I moved to put it in one of my vest pockets. It wasn't there, instead, it was a plain medical gown.

"Come on, I'll walk you home", Amaya said, holding out her hand.

"I think I need to find my clothes first", I said, face glowing red. She smiled and picked up a bag with my clothes in it. She left my curtain room and I changed as quickly as I could. When I walked out, I took Amaya's hand. She intertwined our fingers and gave me a cute smile.

The walk home was nice, the cool air was refreshing.

"Here we are", she said. As I reached for the door, it opened automatically. Knell was standing there. She embraced me.

"Welcome home", she said, letting me go. The hug made Amaya's face burn red with anger. Something told me that they weren't going to be the best of friends.

We all walked inside and I was amazed at the progress that was made while I was unconscious. The entire house was fully furnished.

"What, you were out for a day, it was easy", Knell said, "You're room is upstairs to the left, I think you'll like the view."

She left me downstairs with Amaya.

"Thanks for walking me home", I said.

"Just needed to make sure you are going to be okay", she said. We said our goodbyes and shared one last kiss.

I then left to look for the bathroom. I really needed to shower.

I wanted to clean the filth from my fight off.

Hey, Meisters need to be clean too.

**I'm glad you all like the story.**

**Keep up the reviews!**


	9. My Past and Heritage

My Past and Heritage

_Three days later…_

After I had fully recovered, I noticed that my sister was avoiding me, or rather, wasn't in Death City at all. It was confusing, but that was Holly for you. That girl was always full of mysteries. It was after class so Amaya and I had left for the library. I really didn't know why, though. After Amaya and I entered the library for some reading material, someone had snatched me aside and sat me down at a table.

I was scared out of my mind. I relaxed after seeing it was my sister. She looked like she hadn't slept in forever. Nonetheless, she still was energetic as usual. Noting that Amaya had kept on without me I figured that Holly had told her to bring me here.

"Where have you been", I asked.

"So, Ethan, would you like the long and detailed story, or the short and sweet one", Holly asked, completely dismissing my question. I looked at her as if she had gone crazy. I had no idea what was she was talking about at all. She looked like she was in a hurry. Her Weapons weren't with her. It was curious, but at least I wouldn't have to meet to new people.

"Just give me the important details", I replied, knowing that I would soon know about what the heck my sister was sitting me down for by asking her that question.

"Fine. Let me begin with our family heritage", she said. I mentally snapped my fingers, so that was the subject of question.

_This should be interesting to here, _Critesce stated. I hushed him so I could listen.

"The Tokomashi clan, like every clan, possesses unique techniques and history", she explained. She was speaking somewhat quickly, as if she was trying to hurry it up.

"Maybe the oldest and most secret is the Animal-Spirit bonds. At birth, a Tokomashi's soul is fused with an animal's spirit. Depending upon what animal the host's soul is fused with determines the host's new abilities. For example, I host a panther, which in turn gives me the ability to run faster, jump higher, and hit harder. You're hosting two snakes, which gives you expert sneaking skills and lethal first strikes. I researched it, but haven't found the reason why you have two living within you. It may have been a mishap at your birth, but they amplify your power by three instead of just two. We also have the most flexible souls in existence. We can wield almost any weapon we come across. That's why I use two different Weapons. If you want, you can use two different weapons as well, but since your partner is of a Dual Weapons clan that will be hard to cope."

She took a breath before proceeding.

"I'm going to move on to our clan rivals, or the Sharie Clan. For generations our families have been nearly at war. The Sharie Clan is full of Kishen Tamers. They can manipulate Kishen to do their bidding. The D.W.M.A. has been trying to track them down for years, but they're careful to cover their tracks. I think that night at the summer house wasn't an accident, yet it was…in a way. Our clan knew that the only way to stop the fighting was to have them find us and then try to wipe us out. They knew that the clan would survive if the youngest two were to escape and thought to be dead. With Lord Death's help, they arranged for us to leave and stay at the Academy before the Sharie clan found them again. There was only one problem. Someone had squealed, the Sharie clan had found our hideout and attacked, leaving no trace behind. Part of the plan was carried out, however. We escaped. I was already out of the house when I heard the attack. I was too afraid to go back so I ran until the marauders found me. I don't know how you got away, but I'm glad you did. That means our family didn't die in vain."

I was speechless, I couldn't believe I had just heard. It made sense, but it still left me unable to say anything.

"How do you know all of this", I asked.

"Research, mostly. Lord Death told me about the plan, but only half of it. I had to guess on the rest of it", she replied. She saw my astonished look and tried to comfort me.

"Ethan, this may be hard for you to grasp, but at least it came from me", she said.

I wanted to try and think, but she left me there, confused and on the verge of tears.

She quickly looked up with an expression of paranoia on her face. She quickly left me alone, even more confused.

"Ethan", Amaya called snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned to see her coming down one of the D.W.M.A.'s library's long ladders carrying a stack of books. I was wondering where she went.

"Yeah", I replied. She jumped to the floor, nearly losing her balance. I steadied her the best I can.

"I just heard from Maka that we should practice our Resonance", she said, heaving the pile of books into my arms. I nearly threw my back out under that weight.

"Why do you need so many textbooks", I strained.

"Why else? To study of course", she simply replied.

"Study what", I asked.

"For the test tomorrow, don't tell me you forgot", she said. I gave her a reasoning look. She facepalmed.

"I swear, you might be one of the smartest guys I know, but when it comes to common sense, you have next to none", she admitted, "It's a good thing you're cute."

"That's really helping my self-esteem", I commented sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Let's go drop these books off and go practice before I say something else that hurts you're feelings", she countered, changing the subject. We checked the books out and left for my house, where we would be studying after we practiced our Soul Resonance.

The training field was empty, giving the time of day. I looked at the sun, which was fighting as hard as it could against sleep. I judged we had about two hours tops before it got too dark to see. Amaya looked around, and then at me.

"Okay, Ethan, I have a new technique I want us to try", she said. I nodded and she transformed into my hands.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Let's do it!" she said. Shortly after, I felt her soul trying to resonate with mine. I opened up and grabbed hers in mine.

"Now!" we shouted in synch, "Soul Resonance!"

I could tell we were both putting everything we had into it, because the energy that left us was strong enough to create a crater around us.

"Ethan, I want you to think about swords", Amaya said. I thought her request was odd, but I complied, knowing that it had something to do with the technique she was talking about earlier. I pictured her original Weapon Form in my hands. Then, something happened. The scythes withdrew and were replaced by the very same blades that I had just pictured. They were glowing, but they had the exact same shape.

"It worked", she cheered, "Our Basic Resonance Form is based on your imagination! The other day you must have imagined Tsubaki's Twin Scythe Mode and I took that form. Try another one!"

I was astounded, so I imagined a pair of whips where Amaya's sword blades were. Again, the lethal parts of her withdrew and were replaced. I smiled, and looked at one of the training dummies. I raised Amaya and struck it from the other side of the field. When I pulled her back, the dummy split in half, with a smooth, clean cut down the middle. The power was so concentrated, and I could control it so easily. Suddenly, our souls lost resonance and we returned to our normal selves so quickly that we flew in opposite directions.

"Sorry", Amanda called, striding back over to me, "I lost my concentration. My fault."

She held out a helping hand. I took it and she pulled me up. However, she had pulled a little too hard and instead of stopping when I was upright, I kept going and toppled over on top of her.

"Did you do that on purpose?" I asked, to which she gave a cute giggle.

"Maybe", she said, closing the gap between our faces and giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

"Clever girl", I said. I got to my feet and pulled her up, not to make her fall on top of me.

"I think that's enough practice for now, let's get home", she said. I nodded in agreement and we turned in the direction of my home.

We walked back into Death City, hand in hand, very proud of our recent accomplishment.

**Sorry, I only got one review, so I wasn't motivated enough to get this up quickly. I told you, reviews are important to keep my stories up. I may repost this chapter, so look out for changes.**

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	10. New Players in the Game

A New Player in the Game

Over the next few weeks, Amaya and I have learned what the Academy was all about, and we were given missions based upon what we learned. Daily classes were mostly about improving and learning new techniques, we did learn few other things that would help us in our missions, but that's not important. On our sixth mission, we were in pursuit of a pair of ruthless killers and thieves. They were already Kishens, but they hadn't completely changed yet.

I found myself falling behind in the chase after a failed attempt to bring them down with a quick attack. If only I hadn't slipped on that alley water, I would be having curry with Knell right now.

"Damn they're fast", I cursed, following the Kishens on the rooftops of Death City.

"What would you expect? This is a level three mission", Amaya said. She was in her sheaths I had made for her after our first mission. They were black, since most of our missions took place at night.

"I suppose you're right, but I mean, there's no way I can keep up like this", I replied. Suddenly, something snapped in my mind to make me stop. I had an idea.

_Master Ethan, you mustn't, none of us know what the effects of that drug might do, _Critesce advised, reading my thoughts.

_I have no other choice, besides, aren't field tests better than anything, _I replied.

"What are you doing, they're getting away!" Amaya shouted. I pulled a pill from a pocket on my vest. The black pill shined in the moon's light. I was this, or failure of this mission. I, for one, don't like losing.

"My latest creation", I said, before Amaya could ask. I swallowed it and waited. Almost immediately, I felt a huge surge of energy rush through my body. It was incredible, I felt as if I could arm wrestle Lord Death!

"Amazing", Amaya said, "the energy running through your body is so strong I can feel it!"

"Good", I said. The two Kishen were almost too far away to see, but as soon as I took my first step, I was closing in on them faster than I could even think. My movements were faster than they had ever been before. The drug heightened my senses. Well, it nearly turned me into a god.

I was nearly fifty yards away from them in five seconds. I slipped past them and stopped in front of them on a large building. They stopped after seeing I had cut them off.

"Kishens Bonnie and Clyde, you have broken the law of consuming human souls, for that, I'm here to take yours!" I announced for the second time that night. They looked at each other, then back at me.

"Well, well, well, someone's persistent aren't they", Clyde said. They both had evil, pointed grins on their faces.

"I think we can take this weakling, but let's finish it fast", Bonnie added. Before I made a move, they both started to transform. Slowly, their bodies formed into one. It was a gross sight, seeing them melt into each other. After the transformation was complete, the final product was a skinny, two head body, with four arms. It swung its massive, yet, quick four arms at me, which extended outward, like they were made of rubber.

I easily dodged them using the speed from the pill. I unsheathed Amaya, and observed our opponent's attack pattern. The body in whole was slow, but the arms were lightning quick. I smiled, knowing I was three times faster. In a split second, I was behind them. Before I could strike, one of the arms had caught me in the chest, sending me backwards. That thing was really coordinated.

"Watch out, you're making your movements too easy to read", Amaya said. I parried another attack.

Unfortunately, before I could make another move, pain seized my body. It was so intense, I dropped to my knees, clutching my chest.

_Master Ethan, I told you not to take that experimental elixir, _Critesce said. It felt like I was on fire, the side effects would have been enough to kill a younger Meister.

"Ethan, are you alright", Amaya asked, worried. I felt her trembling. That made me feel worse than the pain I was currently experiencing. I was so stupid for doing that, and it terrified Amaya.

"No, the pill must be wearing off. The side effects are making my muscles tighten up, I can barely move", I said. The Kishen's observed the sight and smiled. They raised their four arms.

"Well, looks like your little burst of energy has run dry. Farewell", Clyde said. All of the arms turned into sharp spears. I waited for them to get close before attempting to move. I managed to jump aside, but the shockwave they made after impacting the ground sent me flying sideways. The searing pain stunned me for a second. That was the second they used to try and finish me off with.

The spiked fists were flying at me and all I could do was close my eyes. Flashes of light showed through my eyelids and I looked to see the Kishens flinching and moving backwards, with smoke coming from sever burn marks on them. Balls of energy were flying overhead and hitting the Kishens with an explosive impact. I looked in the direction of the blasts to see a girl with a giant rocket launcher standing on a higher building. The cannon was bulky, but, the girl seemed to be holding it with ease. She had been watching the whole time.

"Now, Soul Resonance!" the girl shouted. Energy surrounded her. The rocket launcher grew in size and two arms came out and grabbed the building to help absorbed the recoil of the next shot.

"Target locked, preparing Kishen Destroyer Shot", the rocket launcher announced, "Charging, thirty-six percent."

The Kishens was no longer looking at her, but me. They were going to try finishing me off. I clambered to my feet, feeling the side effects ease slightly. I think I could manage something.

"I know what you're thinking Ethan. Don't do it, you're in no condition for it", Amaya shouted. I ignored her.

"Soul Resonance!" I screamed. I practically forced us into Soul Resonance. Amaya had no choice but to comply. I thought of twin maces, and Amaya took the form. I rushed forward, and jumped, using aerial acrobatics to keep from being hit by my opponents' attacks. I managed to Amaya to crush the Kishens' left side.

"Fire!" the girl shouted. When I hit the ground I ran for all I was worth, if I was still in the blast radius of that shot when it hit, I would be known as filet mignon right now. I heard the explosion when I dived for the building right next to the one I was currently occupying. After I got up and looked back, all I saw was a giant crater, and two Kishen Eggs.

The girl jumped down and grabbed them, still holding the rocket launcher on her shoulder. She tossed one of the Eggs to me.

"I saw that last attack, I have to split the reward. Pretty impressive", she said. In the moonlight, I could see that she had explosive red hair and was wearing a grey battle dress.

"Who does she think she is? We had that under control", Amaya snapped. I felt her twitching in my hands.

"Oh, really? It looked like I was just in time to save your sorry asses", the girl retorted. Amaya changed to human form. The rocket launcher had changed into a girl. I saw that the Weapon had black hair and was wearing a regular black T-shirt and black jeans.

"Abby, calm down, there's no need to fight those who aren't our enemy", she said, holding her Meister back.

"Well, the female seems pretty hostile to me", Abby replied. I heard Amaya growl. I grabbed her by the collar just in case.

"Hey, cutie, why don't you come over here so we can talk! Don't you think that she's a little aggressive for you" Abby directed at me. I blushed, completely embarrassed. Not only had she just met me, but she was flirting with me. Oh, didn't know how to deal with it. What? You've heard that before. Well, I highly doubt that.

I had to hold Amaya back with more force now, she almost rushed over there. There was only one peaceful solution.

"Let's go", I said, ready to leave as fast as possible. I didn't want to hang around and try to get to know them. I had to practically drag Amaya back home after Abby said something about how I wasn't her type and that she'd seen better.

"They should consider themselves lucky", Amaya said when we were out of earshot. I nodded to keep her from getting mad at me.

"We're home!" I called, walking through the door.

"In here!" Knell announced from the kitchen. Inside, Holly, Rex, Maka, and Soul were having tea.

"Missed dinner?" I asked, walking in. Knell took a sip of tea and nodded. I took my seat nearest the door and Amaya walked around to sit across from me. I looked around the table, still no sign of Holly's Weapons. I was beginning to wonder if she was keeping something from me. After all, she barely talked to me, and was doing all she could to avoid me.

"So, how was your mission", Maka asked. I looked at Amaya. The look on her face told me to shut up before I started.

"Eh, rather not talk about it", I said. Something captured my thoughts. "Uh, oh, I forgot to report in to Lord Death."

I quickly rushed from the kitchen to the bathroom. I hurriedly breathed on the mirror and chanted the incantation. The mirror flashed, and Lord Death replaced my reflection.

"Heya, hi, Meister Ethan", Lord Death greeted, holding up his left hand. I smiled, I always enjoyed talking with him.

"Hello, Lord Death", I replied. I saw a brown haired man just behind him. I greeted him as well, "Death Scythe."

"Hi, Ethan, nice to see you again", he said, "How's my Maka?"

"Doing fine", I answered, "She's having tea with us before she goes home with Soul."

"Good, because if anything happens to her I'm holding you personally-", he yelled. I eased my tension after Lord Death hit him over the head with his hand. Death Scythe was left on the floor with a small fountain of blood spewing from his skull.

"I take it you are reporting your mission status", he inquired casually. I scratched the back of my head.

"Well, it didn't go as well as I had originally planned", I responded.

"Oh?"

I briefly explained what had happened about an hour ago and awaited his response.

"Abby and a rocket launcher partner", Lord Death mused aloud.

"Yes, sir, I didn't stay long enough to find out the other's name", I said.

"That seems awfully familiar for some reason", Lord Death pondered, "All well. Maybe it's not important."

I smiled awkwardly, you have to admire his enthusiasm. He told me not to worry about it and that he would see me in the morning. We said our goodbyes and I left for the kitchen again.

Only Knell remained at the table. Apparently, my conversation lasted longer than everyone's liking, so they left. I changed into my blue T-shirt and red shorts and after saying good night to Amaya, went to bed. I locked the door behind me.

Zero and Critesce burst from my body.

"You want to talk, Master Ethan", Zero asked.

"Yeah. You guys need to be more helpful in battle", I said. They looked at each other.

"Master Ethan", Critesce said. I held up my hand to silence him.

"I know you two can see what I can't. You need to warn me more often about in coming attacks. I almost died tonight because I couldn't react fast enough to an attack I know you could see", I interrupted. They remained silent.

"Think about it", I said. They retreated back inside me and I finally got to sleep.

_The next day…_

"Okay everyone, we have two new arrivals today", Mrs. Usari announced. Amaya and I looked up to see her standing next to two girls. I groaned. It was Abby and her partner.

"Great", Amaya said next to me. Mrs. Usari went on.

"This is Abigail Saries, and Haley Saries", she continued. The looked around for a seat until they spotted us. Abby smiled deviously. She walked in our direction and her sister followed. As they got closer, I found myself getting more and more nervous. Abby sat next to me, causing Amaya to shake with anger, Haley sat near her, trying to calm her down.

I sighed, it was going to be a long year…

**Sorry, I only got one review, so I wasn't motivated enough to get this up quickly. I told you, reviews are important to keep my stories up. I may repost this chapter, so look out for changes.**

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	11. The Start of the First Nightmare

***Update* By now, my profile should have been updated.**

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The Start of the First Nightmare

"Are you sure he's around here?" I asked, looking around and out of breathe. We were in a deep alley made by three tall buildings.

"Yes, I'm sure I saw him go this way", Abigail said. We were on an important assignment. There was news of mass murders in Paris, France. Lord Death immediately paired me up with Abigail and Haley. We were tracking the possible killer when he suddenly decided to run.

"I swear if we lose this guy…" I said angrily, my voice trailing off. It had been hard getting along with Abby and her sister. Particularly Abigail. She had an attitude that made Black Star look like a polite gentleman. Haley was more polite toward us. She was constantly apologizing for Abigail's actions and making up for her mistakes. She reminded me very much of Tsubaki.

Anyway, back to Paris.

"Ethan! It's a trap!" Amaya screamed. My eyes widened at the sudden realization. He had just led us into an empty alley. We were cornered. I unsheathed Amaya and turned around, waiting for an attack.

"DAMN IT!" Abby cursed, hearing Amaya's outburst.

A shadow rose over us as our ambusher walked into the alley and drew nearer. It was a kid, no older than me.

"You fell for it", the kid said softly, "Now what do I do?"

"That's easy, now you slice them up into little pieces", a female voice echoed from an unknown origin.

Apparently this kid didn't know how to deal with situations himself. He needed guidance. There was my advantage.

I looked at our opponent, he was slim and somewhat taller than me. He wore a tight fitting old fashioned robe that looked like a dress with a white collar and white cuffs. Wait, now _he _looked like a girl. With the pink hair, but boyish face, I couldn't exactly tell what the gender was.

He or she raised his or her hand and a thick, strong looking sword appeared in the palm. A mouth rose out of it just above the hilt. It was black and white to match its Meister's attire.

Abby readied Haley. I wasn't going to give this Meister an inch.

"Cover me!" I commanded, running forward.

Our opponent raised the sword high, and the mouth delivered a head-splitting scream. I hit the ground, the vibrations coursing through me like waves of wrecking balls. I dropped Amaya to cover my ears, the volume almost shattering my eardrums.

"What in the hell was that", Abby asked, recovering from the screech.

I wasn't really worried about that, as the Meister had used my cringing to close in on me. I rolled to the side, grabbing up Amaya and gaining some distance. I used my speed to get close. I started throwing attacks one right after another when I was in striking range. Something was wrong, though. None of my attacks even cut the robe of the Meister. He or she didn't even so much as flinch as my attacks landed.

"Ethan, hit the deck!" Haley called. I ducked and a blast of Haley's Wavelength flew over me. The force of the impact hit me hard and I flew back. I got up after rolling to a stop.

"Ethan, you okay?"

"Yeah Amaya, I'll make it."

"Hit confirmed, target down", Abby said, returning to her normal stance.

"What are you waiting for Crona? Destroy them already!" the sword ordered. I tensed up, the smoke thinned, revealing that our enemy was still standing. Crona had an arm up to shield his or her face.

"No way, nothing's ever taken a shot like that before and lived", Abby gasped. She looked at Haley.

"Four Power Shots, three Splatter Shots, and five Incendiary Rounds remaining", Haley stated. Abby pushed a button on Haley.

"Switching to fire shots, be advised", Abby called.

Before either of us could react, Crona had appeared in front of us. Abby lunged forward and hit Crona hard in the gut with Haley. The force sent him backwards.

Abby took a few shots at him and filled the alley with fire. Abby jumped to the balcony of one of the buildings and I jumped onto the wall, using my Soul Wavelength to tether me to the building. Crona's shadow could be seen in the flames before he shot upwards. Crona had grown black wings, and was a silhouette against the night sky. I ran up the building to join Abby, who was already up on the roof ready for an all-out brawl.

Crona stared at us and was climbing higher.

"How the hell do we kill something like that", Abby asked bitterly.

I reached into my vest pockets and threw out all Soul Charges I had.

"Master Ethan", Critesce whispered, "what makes you think another explosion will defeat this type of opponent?"

"I have to try something."

"Get him down here", I said, saving time calling Crona a boy.

I threw my Soul over each charge and waited for them to arm. Abby jumped to another building and started firing at Crona. I jumped to a different one and concentrated.

"Ready" I asked Amaya, breathing slowly. She didn't answer. She didn't need to. For three seconds we remained silent. Then we forced our Souls together.

"Now! SOUL RES-"

"!" a second screech from Crona's sword.

This one was louder, forcing our Souls apart. I was blown off my feet and landed a few feet away from my takeoff point. I looked up to see Crona about to strike down Abby, whom was still stunned and covering her ears.

I quickly rushed toward her with all my might and in one second, I was blocking the attack with Amaya. The sword screamed a third time, though not as loud. The vibrations that radiated from it caused blood to splatter from Amaya.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH", Amaya screamed in pain. My heart skipped a couple of beats and I jumped backwards, giving Abby the chance to shoot Crona point-blank. The impact sent him flying to the building I set the charges on. I didn't hesitate, this was my chance.

"Now!" I shouted, throwing my Soul's Wavelength forth and igniting them.

The entire building went up in an explosion. I was sure it could even be seen from space. A piece of debris shot at me and badly cut my arm. I grabbed it, but I was more worried about Amaya.

I looked at her. She was no longer bleeding.

"I'm fine", she said. I sighed in relief.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" Abby exclaimed. I followed her gaze to see Crona in the sky, smoking from the blast.

"What", Amaya gasped. Crona flew at me again. I knew it wasn't the time, but I wanted to try something I had practiced with my Wavelength. I waited until the Meister got close to us. I threw up my hands.

"Soul Discharge", I commanded.

My Soul's Wavelength met Crona's and completely paralyzed it. The wings that were coming out of his back turned to black liquid and splattered all over me. It seeped down into my gash. The stinging produced knocked me to my knees. I grabbed it, praying the burning would stop. It was excruciating. I saw Abby standing over Crona, holding Haley up to his head.

"Goodnight", she said maliciously. Something snatched Crona up before she could pull the trigger.

"Sorry, kiddies. Maybe next time", a witch on a broomstick called, carrying Crona out of our reach. Abby lifted Haley and prepared to fire.

"Do you really think that you can hit me from there", the witch taunted. Abby smirked.

"With a Seeker Shot I expect to", she said.

"Hahahahahahahhahaaaaa!" the witch cackled, "I don't think so."

In the blink of an eye, they disappeared. The witch probably used a cloak to conceal them.

We looked around, expecting to see a surprise attack. After a few minutes, Abby called Lord Death.

"Lord Death, Abigail reporting it."

"Yoooo! Give me the news."

"We found the person responsible for the murders. It was a Meister/Weapon pair. Unfortunately, we failed in terminating them. A witch came to their rescue as I was about to finish them. Something was odd though, no matter what attacks we threw at them, they didn't even flinch. Only when Ethan did some new technique with his Soul did it stop them. I also noticed a cut on his cheek after he crash landed. His blood was black."

"Black Blood?"

"Yes, sir. Have you heard of it?"

"Hmmmm…nope, guess it's just weird. Anything else?"

"Yes, two buildings were destroyed by our fight. We need someone to come pick us up; we're too injured to move on our own."

She looked at me and the mixed bloods spewing from my arm. Amaya was holding me steady.

"And a medic."

I couldn't hear anymore. Blood loss made me dizzy and I passed out.

**This chapter will most likely undergo some changes.**

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	12. We Lost

**Update Day.**

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We Lost

I paced up and down the hall, fearing for my partners life. When we got back, he was still unconscious. I could barely even tell he was breathing. I didn't understand; it was only a flesh wound on his arm. The only thing that could have hurt him that badly was the blood loss, but he didn't lose that much.

I heard the infirmary's door opened and spun around to see Professor Stein exit. I rushed up to him.

"Professor Stein! Is he going to be…" I started, my voice trailing off. I almost burst into tears right in front of him. I didn't, though, I was a tough girl. I could take it.

"The blood transfusion was successful, Ethan will be fine", he said. His smile reassured me. "Hey, what's with the look, I just said he'll be fine."

"I know", I sniffed, "It's just that I saw the debris coming, I should have blocked it. As a Weapon, I have to protect my Meister. And it's his duty to make me a Death Scythe. If I can't hold up my end of the partnership, then maybe I'm not the Weapon he deserves."

"Amaya, you shouldn't say things like that!" Lord Death exclaimed behind me. I nearly jumped out of my skirt. Lord Death always scared the life out of me.

"What do you mean Lord Death?"

"Ethan chose you because he sought protection from society. You are the only Weapon that can provide him with that protection. You didn't notice when you first met? Ethan wasn't the least bit shy or scared of meeting you, and back then you two were complete strangers. I've noticed that in the time you've been partners that he has also started to become his old self again. I'm sure you're familiar with Ethan's bully story. He's been more outgoing ever since he first fought with you. You have restored the confidence he had lost back then."

I was shocked. I never thought about how much of an affect I had on Ethan. Lord Death was right, Ethan was no longer the shy boy I had met six months ago. He has even developed an ego. Though, not a very big one. I smiled, and then I giggled. He had always been so clingy, now he even argues with Black Star.

"There, that's better. You haven't smiled since you got back", Haley said. I turned to see her and Abigail walking up to us.

"We came to see how the cutie was doing", Abigail explained. My face lit up red. "Whoa, now, there's no need for all that! I was just kidding with ya."

I huffed. Abigail and I would never get along. I just couldn't get her humor, especially since most if it depended on flirting with Ethan.

"Sorry we came so late", Haley apologized. "Abby really wanted to practice a new Resonance since we lost."

"That's alright", I replied. "I understand."

I turned to Professor Stein, whom was adjusting the screw in his head.

"Can we see him?"

He nodded. "He's still asleep, so I would be quiet, he needs the rest. I suggest one at a time."

"Okay." I looked at Abigail and Haley.

Abigail waved me inside. "Go on, we can wait."

I opened the door. Yes, I was scared, but I knew it would be alright. Ethan was behind the same curtain as last time, in the back. As I neared it, I heard voices. I slowed my walked and stopped on the other side.

"—think that the Black Blood has taken a toll on his vital organs." one voice said.

"That's not good at all. That means he could be susceptible to Soul Evolutions", a second voice replied. I recognized this one as Holly. What was going on? Why were they here?

A third voice spoke out. "We can block the effects of the Black Blood on his Soul. We just don't know for how long."

"It won't be long", Holly said, "The Black Blood will eventually affect you two as well."

"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there", the second voice said. Curiosity had gotten the better of me. I flung back the curtains to reveal Holly talking to two snakes protruding from my Meister's body. One was a glowing gold, and the other was neon blue. They didn't have any features such as scales. The only things that were visible were the glowing yellow eyes.

"What the—" I was petrified to the ground. I would not move, nor would I breathe.

"I take it Ethan hasn't told you yet?" Holly asked.

I looked at her. "Told me what?"

"I thought so. You may want to want to take a seat for this one", she instructed. I did, shakily, because the closest chair was right next to the snakes.

"I'm going to briefly explain. When a member of the Tokomashi clan is born, there Soul is fused with an animal's spirit. I have a panther fused with mine, so that makes me run faster, jump higher, and hit harder. Ethan has snake spirits. He can walk quieter, blend in to his surroundings better, and deliver deadly stealth attacks. Haven't you ever noticed how sneaky he is?"

I gingerly nodded. Ethan would always surprise me by hugging me from behind. And he would scare the wits out of me by suddenly appearing beside me. I would always scold him even though I knew he didn't mean to. I found him cuter when he was nervous.

"I need to get going", Holly said. She stood up and jumped out of the window she most likely came in through.

The snakes withdrew back into Ethan's body. I placed a hand on his arm.

"_Ethan, can you hear me?_" I knew he was asleep, but I still knew that he could hear me. I was talking to his Soul, after all.

"_Yeah, it's nice to hear you again._"

"_Good, because we need to have a little talk._"

**I know it's not much for an update, but hey, at least I revised the previous chapter.**

**Oh, I forgot one thing. If you fail to review this chapter, I will no longer update this story, just saying.**


	13. Standing Back Up

******I knew I promised updates on the nineteenth, but the computer I was hoping to upload them with turned out to be unreliable. I deeply apologize, but now my internet is back and I can now keep my promises. I'm very sorry.**

Intermission

I wasn't allowed to leave the infirmary for three days. After explaining to Amaya what Zero and Critesce were and why I kept them from her, I seemed to be less stressed. Keeping those two a secret pressured me more than I thought. When I finally did get to go home, I wasn't exactly welcomed with a party.

From the looks on everyone's faces, I knew we took one hell of a hit. Though Lord Death told us that it would be fine, I knew that we blew a big chance.

"I can't believe this!" Knell complained. "Your one shot at something big, and you not only blew it, you killed it, and its family!"

Needless to say, not many people were happy with my results. I knew that Knell wasn't exactly angry at me, just my stupidity for not thinking things through. Our mission wasn't a complete failure, according to Professor Stein. We did manage to ID the one responsible for all those deaths.

After a while, those who were knew about that mission eventually cooled down about it. Pretty soon, everything was back to normal.

"Okay class. Today, I'm going to teach you about Soul Perception. This technique is tricky to use, but mastering it can prove very useful in battle. It will allow you to see and sense the souls of living things."

At this I sat straight. Soul Perception would definitely be something to learn. I didn't pay attention much in class; I did most of my learning in the library.

Amaya grabbed my hand. _Pay careful attention. My mom says that if you want to use this technique, you have to be extra attentive._

I nodded, taking her advice to heart.

"First you want to concentrate on seeing past the body of another organism. If I may have a volunteer…"

No one raised their hand. Nearly every one of Mrs. Usari's volunteers ended up in the infirmary. It wasn't her fault. She just couldn't control herself sometimes. After fifteen seconds, she pointed at me. Some snickered at my misfortune.

"Come now, this is not a combat technique, there is no possible way you can get hurt", she said after seeing the look on my face.

I tried to brighten up a little, but probably failed.

"Okay, Ethan, I want you to look right at me and focus your vision as best as you can on my Soul Wavelength. I know it may be awkward since its invisible, but you'll get the hang of it."

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what I was supposed to do. I opened them and stared intensely at Mrs. Usari. Nothing happened for ten seconds and I gave up. I was sure the library would teach me a better way.

"Oh, I forgot something, silly me", Mrs. Usari giggled. "When you look at me, make sure you transfer your Soul Wavelength to your eyes. It'll help."

I humored her and tried again. This time I used my Wavelength to create what I can only describe as an X-Ray field around me. Suddenly, I could see inside Mrs. Usari. Not like bones or anything, but I could see her Soul on the outside of her body. It was in the shape of a flower, and seemed to be very placid.

"From the look in your eyes, I'd say you have the hang of it already. Good job. Okay, next!"

I sat back down, and looked at Amaya. I smiled.

"Nice", she whispered.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to take on another mission already? You just got out of the infirmary."

I ignored her. Amaya was very concerned for me. She knew I had an appetite for a victory. My confidence wasn't exactly filled to the brim, but I wanted to use my new ability in combat.

"This one." I selected the last mission tag near the bottom of the board.

"That's a pretty easy mission. What's up with that?" Amaya gave me a confused look.

"Like you said, I did just get out of the infirmary, and I'm not exactly teeming with self-confidence. I have a new form for our Soul Resonance I want to try, so an easy mission should be the best way to use it. Besides, this is the only one left." I signed our names on the tag and placed it in the "active" section.

"Yoo-hoo!"

Amaya and I both sighed. What could SHE want?

The new girl tripped over her feet and landed in between us. "Oops. Sorry!"

Amaya crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

"I'm just here to pick out a mission." She climbed to her feet.

"Sorry", I stated, "I just signed out the last one."

"Oh. Well, maybe I'll have better luck next time", she sighed.

"Maybe…" I mumbled.

Gabrielle Thassielle was a transfer student from another Academy in Europe somewhere. She was very klutzy and not many people called her "friend". She acted too much like a three year old. How she managed to become a Meister was beyond me. Fortunately, her role in my story is small, so she won't be mentioned much.

Anyway, after she left, Amaya and I left to go to the cafeteria. I was starving since I missed breakfast this morning. Knell forgot to pick up groceries the day before, and all we had to eat was left over curry.

"I'm so hungry…" I whined as we waited in line.

"Maybe you should just live with me. I'll make sure you get fed." Amaya squeezed my waist.

I knew she was kidding, so I just walked alongside her until we could grab our lunch. The slimy, green, rubber substance that they fed us for lunch bubbled as it was splashed on my tray. I shrugged.

"How can you eat that stuff?" Amaya asked me.

"Like this", I said, taking a big glob of it and shoving it into my mouth. To be honest, it tasted like chicken.

"Ugh, they need to get better chefs", Amaya groaned. She poked at it with her fork.

We—meaning me—ate until there was nothing left on our trays. There was nothing left to do after lunch, so Amaya and I took off early. She left to go get us a ride to Paris, where there were a few attacks by some unknown creature. It wasn't a big deal so long as it didn't turn into mass murders.

Meanwhile, I went home and prepared for the mission. I grabbed some of the test tubes by my chemistry set and shook them. They didn't glow like I was hoping.

"Not time yet." I looked at the time, trying to find something to do.

The pain in my chest was starting to return, so I grabbed the bottle of pain meds from one of my vest pockets and ate one. Ms. Medusa said that I should go back to her once they ran out for more. For some odd reason, that nurse made me uneasy.

Amaya wouldn't be back for a while, so I decided to take a nap. The nightmare I had was unreal…


End file.
